Innocence
by Altair Ibn-La'Ahad - AC
Summary: Loki and Thor are teenagers. They are going to join the Royal Academy of War. In the process, they meet new friends (Hogun, Volstagg and Sif) and go on some adventures with them. Of course, what would be adolescence without Romance and Love ? And who would be Loki without Magic and Treachery ? Sequel to "The Beginning". It's better to read it before this one.
1. Chapter 1: The Royal Academy of War

He was putting his boots, slipping his gloves, readjusting some locks of hair. He didn't want to be ridiculous towards his brother but he had to be careful not to be late. Today there was no title prince. Loki had to be ready to become a student in the Royal Academy of War. This Academy was the most prestigious school in the kingdom. One enters as a boy, one gets out as a man. A soldier. Better: a warrior. If you asked a man what could be his ideal studies, he would say the Royal Academy of War for sure. There were a lot of appliquants but only a few passed the entrance test. Odin had decided the honour of being accepted at the Academy wouldn't be how much money you can bring but how talented you are. In fact, each pretender had to fight in front of a jury to be accepted. For this, Thor and his friends Fandral and Wolfram were ready. But was he ?

* * *

The arena of the Academy wasn't that big. It was nothing compared to the gigantic one where games were organized in the summer next to the palace. But it was frightening because of the dozen of juror present in the first rows to judge your every move. Families and rich bourgeois were sitting higher. The royal family had a special place in front of the judges. Odin was waiting for every challenger to arrive, his wife at his side and the princes' teacher, Algrim, behind them.

Loki came into the room where the young men were standing prepared. Everyone was choosing a sword and a shield. Among the demonstration of muscles and testosterones, Loki finally found his brother, laughing with Fandral.

"Brother, at last ! We thought you will never come !" said Thor.

"As you can see, I am here", answered Loki. "Do you know what is the running order ?"

"No, but I can't wait to defeat the unlucky man who will have to fight with me."

"You are very sure of yourself", said Loki.

"Yes, too sure, I'd say", added Fandral.

"Please care of yourselves, girls. Let me fight like I want !"

With that, Thor stormed out of the room.

"So impatient your brother !" said Fandral to Loki.

"Yes… Fandral, do you mind if I ask you a question ? And please, be sincere."

"I'll see what I can do, my prince."

"Do you think I will succeed ?"

Fandral didn't know what to answer. Loki asking this question meant he was not sure of himself. That was the first time he had heard this. But the moment wasn't for jokes. Either he could tell him everything will be fine. Or tell him the truth… During days, Thor and his friends had laughed about Loki's attempt to enter the Academy. He didn't fit at all the warrior's physic, neither the spirit. He was more into mental, psychic and reflection things. Sure it would be a failure. But Fandral didn't have the heart or the courage to tell it to him.

"Yes, of course. Do you know if you can use magic ?"

"I already asked. I can't."

"Oh…" said Fandral unable to hide his doubt, he bit his lips. "Don't worry, your brother taught you well."

Fandral couldn't stand one minute more to lie to the prince, so he left Loki alone and got out to reach Thor. The elder prince was talking with Wolfram about the best way of beating the herald. He was a man chosen by the General of the Army – in fact there were several. Their task was to fight all the young men volunteered to enter the Academy. They were still debating which strategy was the best, when Odin stood up and the trumpets rang. Everybody quieted and the All-Father started to speak.

"Today will see a new generation of student in the Royal Academy of War. As the others, it will become a generation of brave warriors. Those students, for they are promised to a bright future, will be well chosen among those who volunteered. Only the mightiest ones will find a place in the rows of the Academy. In this goal, I named ten jurors in charge of recruiting the students. They will grade each candidate regarding his aptitudes to fight, to adapt and to think in a combat situation. Today the combat will take place in this arena, tomorrow it could be in the valley of Vanaheim or the mountains of Asgard. To all of them, I wish success !"

Everybody applauded the king's speech. Then the quartermaster spoke in turn:

"I will now call each candidate one by one. At your name, please, stand before the judges and salute the herald who will fight with you. I remind to the candidates, only a wooden sword is allowed, no real swords, daggers, knives, arks, magic spells are permitted. When a judge says "Stop", you need to stop immediately. Now the best be the victorious ! Orag Burnison !"

The man was twice Thor's height and walked like each of his steps was making the earth shake. The fight didn't last too long. It was clear he was ready to be a soldier.

"Accepted !" said the quartermaster after consulting the judges.

Everybody clapped his hands. Some other men were called more or less victorious. Then it was time to let enter a prince into the arena.

"Thor Odinson !"

The entire arena held his breath and the blond haired man moved forward in the middle of the courtyard. He beamed in front of his opponent who did the same. Thor looked at the man in the eyes. He could see he was impressed by him. Thor knew it wasn't his muscles but only his name he was fearing. So he said:

"I didn't know the army recruited girls !"

The man tried to give him a first hit on the shoulder. But Thor anticipated his movement so he avoided it. The prince made a turn on himself and gave a slam with his sword in the calf. The fighter fell and turned somersaults to stand up again facing Thor. The prince put his sword high to make his opponent believe he was releasing his guard and made a feint on the side giving him a hit in the ribs.

"Stop !" shouted the quartermaster.

After a short talk he added:

"Accepted !"

The royal family applauded Thor and everybody was shouting and saying his name. Thor lifted his sword up in a sign of victory. The fighter said to the prince:

"See you in class, my prince. I will teach you the good manners during your technical course !"

"Loki Odinson !"

His name resonated in his ears. He knew it was time for him to show in the middle of the arena but he was frozen. A deep fear climbed from his inside. Luckily, Fandral was next to him again.

"Loki, it's your turn. You will do great !" he said encouraging him.

Loki get out of his torpor and put a feet before the other to join the courtyard. Odin and Frigga were tense. Thor was applauding his brother. The crowd was now still. Loki saluted the other fighter. The best way to get over his opponent was to understand his tactic. The first hits he gave, Loki avoided them. It wasn't really a combat and people in the arena were already betting that the young prince would give up. However after studying closely the steps of the herald, Loki made a move with his fist to prepare his sword. He was ready for another attack that this time he was decided to counter. He didn't wait long. The fighter gave a big slam from the left that Loki warded off. Then the prince gave a severe blow with his shoulder to destabilize him and placed the point of his sword on the heart of the herald.

"Stop !"

Nobody waited for the answer. The crowd who was mocking him just few seconds before was already standing up acclaiming his prince, all saying his name.

"Loki ! Loki ! Loki !"

"Accepted !" said the quartermaster.

New acclamations burst forth when people heard the judgment. At this moment, Loki was so proud of himself, he would have cry if he wasn't in front of all of Asgard. He turned to his parents and saw them applauding too, proud of their son. It erased, or so he thought, these last years being left alone among his grimoires. His brother even came in the arena to take him in his arms.

"How did you do that ? You were even better than me !"

Loki was so grateful to hear his brother. Saying he was better than him should have been hard for Thor, so he had to take it to its proper value.

"Thank you, Brother. I had a good teacher", he said winking.

* * *

 **Explanations for this chapter:**

 **\- Hello everybody ! Back for a new fanfiction ! I hope you loved this one.**

 **\- Not a lot to explain here. Don't forget to look at my profile page to see the doc where I put every character in order of appearance (name of the character, picture from Marvel comics, name of the actor, picture of the actor). For the characters you already know, it's not very important, but for the rest my 'casting' will help you to figure out how I imagined them.**

 **\- Loki and Thor are about 18 years old here. This story takes place 10 years after "The Beginning" and something like 3 or 4 years before the movie "Thor".**

 **\- Feel free to review !**


	2. Chapter 2: The trainings

In the courtyard, the General of the Army was speaking to his new students.

"If you are here today, it means you did great yesterday. But this is not what you must remember. This is only the beginning of a long, very long, journey. Some of you will give up, some others will be sublimated, it only depends on your own will. You have to excel on everything. You will have to think, to decide and to fight. Your only restrain is yourself ! Now today, you will pass some tests to determine which weapon could be the best for you. After six month you will pass another test which will decide if you can go further with the formation: a real mission !"

In Loki's mind, it was the same thought as the day before.

" _Will I be able to pass this test ?"_

He knew if Thor will and he won't, it would be a shame for him. He had to succeed. But for now, he had to pass this test with success. He knew his favourite weapon would be magic, but it wasn't a possibility.

"After the first year, when you will be back from your trip, we will evaluate your capacity to command men. Only few of you will be selected to follow this program. It doesn't mean you are not a good warrior, only you are not made to rule. After that you will join a group of experimented soldiers and make some missions in the whole of Asgard and with some luck, somewhere else. Now prepare to fight !"

During the tests, the sword was the most given weapon. A lot of people were also told to take a bow or an axe. Only a few were ordered to take something else. When it was Loki's turn, he prayed to be given a sword. He actually started with it.

"No, it doesn't suit you…" said the quartermaster. "Try with a bow."

Loki took one of them and an arrow. He tried to take the pose that he thought was the right one, but he was a bit shaking and when he released it, the arrow got nowhere.

"You don't seem dexterous enough to use it."

" _So ironic ! This really was the last straw ! Him, not dexterous enough !_ " But the quartermaster's decision was no debatable.

"Hum… Clearly, you're not made to use an axe. So, what do we have left ? What would you say about the daggers ? Take them and engage a fight with me again."

Loki did as he was told and started to fight with two long knives. Not troubled by the use of two weapons, he was quite good with them. On the contrary, the short blades allowed him to move more smoothly during the fight.

"Good ! We found you something ! I'm not sure that it will be efficient on a battlefield, but it seems to match with you."

" _What did he mean with that ?_ " thought Loki. " _Was he thinking, HE won't be efficient on the battlefield too ?_ "

The quartermaster shouted to the man who was in charge of reporting every choice.

"Daggers for the prince Loki !"

Thor, who had stayed in the courtyard to see his brother, congratulated him.

"You are a very particular fighter, Brother ! Daggers ! That's kind of classy !"

"Thank you ! I would have preferred to be normal and have a sword, but apparently it suits me better."

"I prefer you to be particular, Loki. You are not everyone", he added winking.

Once again, this attitude coming from his brother made him happy.

"But you are not everyone either, Brother. And you have a sword !"

"Well, the reason is I'm the best at it."

"With a wooden one I can attest, but no one ever saw you with a real one."

"Wait for it, and you'll see !"

* * *

The day after, the future warriors of Asgard were all gathered in the courtyard once again. According to the results of the tests they did the day before, they were going to learn how to fight in different classes. But during the first days, there were no fights, so they stayed altogether. The students just had to listen to their instructors. It was all about the attitude in the Army, the dress regulations, the way to address to another military man.

During this class and the following ones, Loki never talked to anyone. He was way too much concentrated. As for Thor, Fandral and Wolfram, they were already befriended with other guys. It was only when they began to really learn how to fight, that the younger prince met someone. In fact, he had to, because Thor and his friends were in another group - with the ones who were fighting with swords. The second group was the bowmen group, the third one the men with axes. Loki's one was for all the other men who were fighting with different kinds of weapon.

A lot of men already knew each other and were already talking together. The only one away from the others, except for Loki, was a bit tanned and had slanting eyes. Because he was the only one to have a special weapon with pikes, he was paired with Loki.

"My name is Hogun. I am from Vanaheim." answered the guy when Loki approached him.

"I am glad to meet you, Hogun. You may already know it, but I am the prince Loki of Asgard."

"Yes, I knew it. Your demonstration on the first day was kind of perfect."

"Thank you."

"Don't thank me. Thank whoever taught you how to fight like you did."

"You two: stop talking and start to warm up !", commanded the captain.

" Yes, captain !", they answered together.

They warmed up but they continued to talk lower.

"Do you think we will succeed in learning how to fight each other with such different weapons ?", asked Loki.

"We'll see. I guess, on the battlefield, you have no choice, so will we in here."

Actually, they did a great job for their first lesson. They learnt their first moves, who were the same for both of them.

"Tomorrow, you will have another master. He will be able to teach you how to attack and to parry with daggers and… whatever it is you are fighting with", he said talking about Hogun's weapon.

"Yes, captain !" they answered.

* * *

The quartermaster lead Loki and Hogun to their dedicated place of training. When they arrived, they were surprised to discover that a woman was standing there. For she had her back turned, they didn't see who she was a the first glance. Then she turned and here was… the Queen !

"Mother ! What are you doing here ?"

"My Queen", said Hogun bowing.

"She is your new teacher, of course", answered the quartermaster and he left.

Loki looked at his mother with question in his eyes.

"I didn't know that you were giving combat lessons."

"Is that the fact that I am a Royal family member or that I am a woman ?"

Loki didn't say a word, nor Hogun did because they were to afraid to be rude either they chose one or the other solution.

"I am better at daggers than pikes, but I'll do my best.", said Frigga to set them free of their embarrassment.

"Of course, your Majesty", said Hogun. "It's an honour."

"Let's play", then !", she said.

And she took a combat pose.

* * *

Hogun was not the type of guy to talk a lot, as Loki discovered it. So the conversations they had during the trainings were not really conversations. More like salutations and mundane talks. During the few pauses they got, Loki and Hogun went to see Thor and his friends. Loki presented Hogun to them and asked news about their class.

"How does it go in sword classes ?" asked Loki.

"Well, we learn how to move efficiently. Most of the men here only know how to give a hard hit. But there is far more discipline to have. Isn't there Thor ?", asked Fandral.

The young prince raised his eyes to the sky.

"Thor loves his technician teacher so much, he has already taken three more hours training with him", added Wolfram. "But everyone follows for now !"

"And you ?" asked Thor.

"With Hogun, we are most of the time alone with Mother. This way, it's easier to progress quickly. Mother says we are sedulous students."

"That seems really fun, Brother !" mocked Thor. "I thank the Nornes to be part of the sword group !"

"It doesn't bother us", said Hogun.

This remark confirmed Thor's words. The new friend of Loki was too austere for him. And in truth, of course he was. But it was good for Loki. The prince never liked people who spoke too much. Moreover Hogun seemed to be a wise and smart man. The kind of man Loki would have loved to meet more often. He was pretty sure that Hogun felt the same about him, that is why they did great during their lessons. But Loki knew it would take more than that to make him a friend. Like him, Hogun was surely not the type of guy who could give his trust easily. It won't be easy if we add the fact that Loki had made only one friend during his childhood: Amora. They were now almost strangers since Frigga forbid her to benefit of her magic lessons. Although he knew she was still leaving in the palace, he tried to avoid her as often as possible. So what would be his first step with Hogun ?

After a fighting session, Loki asked him:

"Hogun, what do you think about coming with me to meet Thor and the guys in the dining room ?"

"I would be pleased, of course. As long as I do not disturb."

"Don't worry. You will not. You will come as a friend."

The prince saw the face of the Vanir when he pronounced the word "friend". He read surprise and distrust. He didn't expect anything else from his partner.

* * *

When they arrived at the table, his friends were already eating, although it was not the time at all.

"Aren't you nothing more than bellies ?" asked Loki.

"Fighting made us hungry, Brother ! Could you blame us for taking our forces back ?"

"Of course not, but I would have never suspect you, especially the three of yours, to be such fragile to lose your forces after only some hours of training !", he said with defiance.

"The fact that you are not exhausted at all makes me think you don't fight a lot during your lessons, Brother !"

"Well, well Princes, it's time to stop the jokes before it turns bad." intervened Fandral.

"This is only a game between us. No harm there." pleaded Thor.

"No harm." added Loki.

"You see." said Thor to Fandral.

"Don't be afraid Hogun." said Wolfram. "They are always like this."

"I'm not sure it reassures me." he answered.

"That's nothing, really" said Loki. "My brother is just a bit too proud, it's all."

"Are you kidding me ?" said Thor standing up. "I am proud ? Look at you !"

"We said 'STOP' guys !" said Fandral with a severe ton.

This time, Thor was a bit edgy. As for Loki, mischief was painted on his face.

* * *

Although Loki was pretty invested in his studies, he also kept time for magical practice. He had become very talented and had learnt many spells. He was even able to make illusions appear either out of nowhere or transforming something's appearence. That was terribly useful to make tricks to his brother and the handmaiden. He was sure that on the battlefield, it would be his best chance to win. Since he was not his mother's student in magic anymore, Loki was not able to compare his mastery with someone else. And he was not going to ask his father about it neither. He knew his father still disapproved his using of magic. Although he still had much to learn, he was sure that he was far more powerful than a lot of other witches and wizards. He was longing for demonstrate it. But there was one thing in particular that was bothering him. Even obsessing him.

"Mother, can I come in ?" asked Loki knocking at his mother's apartments' door.

"Yes, of course, Loki !" she answered opening the door. "What a surprise ! It's been a long time since I saw you here."

"Yes. I know. I beg you to forgive me for my behaviour in this matter, Mother."

"Hum... You ask for forgiveness, you should be in a very uncomfortable position. What is bothering you, my son ?"

"You may find me ridiculous, but it is about magic that I come to you. I can do a lot of things but now I am afraid."

"What are you afraid of ?"

"You surely don't remember, but there is one thing I would like to learn with magic. I would like t..."

"To teleport, I know."

Loki was astonished. His mother remembered. It was about 10 years from this day and she remembered !

"I was the one who asked the question, Loki. What mother would I be if I was not capable of remembering it ! Deep down, I knew you would come back for that."

"Then you are still far more powerful than me."

"You were doubting it, young man ?" she joked. "So what is it, you fear so much that you need me ?"

"You know, I can already make illusions appear, not moving ones, but it is still something. I can even create an illusion of myself ! But disappear completely, it is really different. I fear I will never reappear."

"And you are right."

"If I may say so, you are not reassuring me at all."

"If I am not mistaken, you are not here to hear reassuring words from me. You are more looking for answers and I will give you that."

"Yes, of course."

"I can teach you the art of teleporting, for I know how to teleport myself."

"I didn't know that you did."

"Then it is a good surprise." said Frigga smiling.

"The most important is not how to reappear, but where it is judicious to do it. You see, if you plan to take shape in a place you cannot visualize, you risk to be stuck in a wall or entangled in someone or something. It means that on a battlefield, it is very dangerous. Although it is very useful."

"Could I go back to my former place if I am stuck in something ?"

"If you are strong enough maybe. But you surely be dead before even thinking about it. That is why you must be very wise when you choose a place to reappear."

"I understand. But then, when my choice is done, what do I have to do?"

"It will require a lot from you. I recommand you not to use it of you are tired. Or you could lost a part of yourself."

"Still not reassuring at all, Mother."

"And I am still here to tell you the truth."

"You are right. Go on."

"The best thing you can do is letting your magic guide you to your new place. Only her knows you entirely and can move the whole of you where you decided to go. Towards her you will know when the teleporting is over."

"Then I have nothing else to do than thinking where I want to go ?"

"I know that you are capable of casting spells without saying anything. So yes, but don't lose your focus on the way. Even if something is hitting you, even if there is a storm next to you."

"And if something goes in my way at the last moment ?"

"Then you didn't choose your moment and place wisely."

The Queen let Loki assimilate everything he had just heard. Then she added:

"When you will be able to do that properly, there is something else I would like to teach you too."

"What is it ?"

"This !"

The woman who said that was not in front of him anymore although his mother's shape was still. He turned and saw his mother. Then he made a turn back and the former shape of his mother disappeared.

"How did you do that ? Do you know how to be at several places at the same time ?"

"No, this is far from my capabilities. This is more simple. Before I teleported, just a second before, I created an illusion of myself. You know how it works. I created it just over me. And I reappeared in your back ! You didn't know it until I spoke because you still saw my shape in front of you. For that illusion to be very real, you will need to learn how to make it moving."

"That is a lot to learn..."

"Is it not your dream ?"

"I know."

"So you will mastered it. As you did with each other spell !"

"I am flaterred by your faith in me, Mother. But it will be hard."

"Did I say it would not ?" she said with malice.

* * *

Frigga's lessons were bearing fruits. Loki was almost ready to do his first teleportation. In the process, he learnt how to look invisible. Another skill which could be interesting on the battlefield. Loki, who was studying seriously, made a lot of efforts to follow Royal Army and magic lessons at the same time. The more time passes, the more the lessons were hard. The instructors were severe and Loki and his friends decided to train alone between the sessions. Hence they planned to meet one hour a day in a small arena next to the gardens of the palace. Fandral, Hogun, Thor and Loki were increasing their skills this way, but Loki was more and more exhausted...

* * *

 **Some explanations for this chapter:**

 **\- In my mind, the Royal Academy of War is a two year school. Half of the program stands in the Academy and the other one on mission in Asgard.**

 **\- After Fandral, now it's time to welcome Hogun in my fanfictions ! As always you can look into my profile page to the doc where I put each character of my fanfiction and the actor for each of them.**

 **\- In the next chapter, be ready ! It will be the debut of Sif ! :-D**


	3. Chapter 3: Encounters

Once again, Loki, Thor and their friends were training in their usual arena. This time, besides their weapon, they all had a shield. Their last lesson was about how to use them either they were armed or not. Thor was fighting against Hogun who was trying to resist the prince as much as he could. Wolfram was in the same situation with Fandral while Loki was waiting for his turn, seated in the lower tribune of the amphitheater. Once in a while he was giving advice to one of his friends about how to improve his move. Most of the time he was making fun of them. The afternoon was quite warm and the sun was shining. There were not a lot of people around them, only a few servants. Everybody was strolling in the gardens of Asgard. However Loki noticed a young maiden in front of him at the other side of the amphitheater. She was seated in the upper part and was looking at the fighters. He thought it was a strange place for a girl.

She was about the same age than Loki and his friends. She had got beautiful long blonde hair and was not dressed with a gown like every other girl. She had a long shirt, almost a dress, pants and high boots. One could have said that she was ready for the war. This whole equipment was opposed to her sweet face, although it was tinted with bitterness. She was not leaving Thor out of her sight. Suddenly she heard a voice in her back.

"They still need a lot of training, don't you think ?"

The girl stood up immediately and recognized the prince Loki. She bowed.

"My prince. I'm sorry. I didn't want to disturb you in your session."

And she turned, ready to get out of the arena. Loki found her more muscular than he thought. She was not a tomboy but not far. He answered her before it was too late.

"Wait ! Did I say you were disturbing me ?"

She turned to him again.

"No", she said hesitating. "But I thought you wanted me to leave..."

"If it was what I wanted, I would have told you to do so."

"Right. Then about your question… I am not qualified to judge."

"Oh, my question… It was more like a joke. My brother and my friends are the best students of the class in combat. What I was really wondering was the reason of your presence here. You should be enjoying the beautiful day in the gardens.

"With the women ?" she said with defiance.

Loki understood what she was implying about the place of the women in the society. He didn't want to take part in this kind of conversation so he chose to let go.

"I meant like everybody else."

"You will think I am a weird person, but I like looking at fighting duels. I find them fascinating."

"Indeed, this is kind of weird."

"I like them much more than flowers, trees or any other kind of garden's things."

While talking with the girl, Loki was watching his friends in the center of the arena. He would have go on with the conversation but he heard his friends and they were looking for him. For he didn't want to be seen up here in the arena, he decided to go, even if it wasn't very polite.

"I am sorry. I need to go. Enjoy the show", he added showing his friends.

The girl looked at them, but there was no show at all. Thor and the others were shouting, calling Loki. When she turned her head back to say goodbye, Loki was already gone. When she turned her head to the center of the arena again, here he was, already joining his friends. What a curious and mysterious prince he was !

"Where were you, Brother ?"

"You were so boring I went sleeping. I don't even give a chance to you for the test in two months ! I could almost take you altogether for myself."

Obviously he was mocking them but Thor decided to play his part.

"OK then ! All against my Brother !"

Wolfram, Fandral, Hogun and Thor gathered in front of Loki.

"Wow ! Calm down guys, I meant no harm."

"Too late, Loki. Your Silvertongue put you in a delicate situation this time."

Thor started first by giving him a hit that Loki parried. Then Hogun gave it a try but didn't succeed either.

"You see !" said Loki teasing.

Then Wolfram came giving a huge hit on Loki with his shoulder making him fall on the ground. Fandral put a sword on his throat.

"So ? Still bragging ?" asked the warrior leaving Loki's throat alone.

The young prince took his breath back and lifted up on one arm. He laughed and looked a the girl in the stands. She didn't miss a beat.

* * *

The day after, there was no training for the princes and their friends for it was raining. They were all gathered in one of the halls of the palace except for Loki who was in the library, reading one of the multiple magic books. After finishing it, he decided to go see his horse in the stables. He was almost there when he crossed the way of a beautiful Asgardian: Amora.

"Prince Loki", said the girl bowing. "What a pleasure !"

"Lady Amora. It's been a long time since we have seen each other."

"Of course, for you avoided me since your mother decided not to teach me magic."

Ouch ! That was so true and he knew it.

"And I am sorry for it."

"Don't apologize for something that was not of your doing."

"I meant I'm sorry for avoiding you for so long. I was only a child and I was scared."

"I forgive you, Loki. This is ancient history."

"I am delighted to hear that. What about your sister ? It seems that she has disappeared."

"No, she is still there. But you know how she was… She didn't change a lot. Except now she tries to seduce men to have what she wants."

"And what does she want ?"

"The same as everyone else, my prince: power !"

And she turned leaving the prince alone in the corridor. Odd encounter... After so much time, she was not even resentful... Thor found his brother just a few seconds after.

"Ah ! You are here ! I was wondering where you were. I didn't find you in the library. Would you join us in the hall ? We will play and eat !"

"How original is this !"

"Please, stop joking, Loki."

"Fine, I'll go with you."

Loki followed his brother to the hall where were seated their friends. Fandral was already putting money on the table and rolling the dices.

"Loki will play with us !" announced Thor.

"I didn't say I'll play."

"Come on, Loki", added Wolfram. "Don't be shy !"

"I am reasonable, not shy."

"Good", said Fandral. "Then come and see me win !"

Everybody was enjoying the afternoon despite the bad weather, until a soldier entered in the hall.

"My princes, the King and the Queen ask you in their apartments."

Loki and Thor looked at each other and followed the guard to their parents room. What would be so urgent to call them in their private apartments ? The guard knocked on the door and announced:

"Their Majesties the Princes Thor and Loki !"

They heard a voice inside the room:

"Come, my sons."

Loki and Thor get in the room and closed the door.

"Is there something serious ?" asked Thor.

"Yes, but this is good news", answered Frigga.

"What is it ?" asked Loki.

"I am pregnant", said the Queen.

Loki and Thor couldn't have been more stunned. They tried to think as quickly as they could. They were not even aware that their mother could still have babies. What would it imply for them, for the Royal family ? But there was no real threat. So Loki came to his mother.

"I'm happy for you, for us", he said taking her hand.

"That is a great news ! We must celebrate this with a giant banquet !" added Thor.

"We will do that in time, but no one is informed yet. So be quiet until your mother and I decide it is time to share the news. Besides we would like to make the most of the opportunity to tell you something else. As important as the birth to come."

Loki and Thor looked at each other, fearing something bad this time.

"You have another brother. He is older than Thor and his name is Vidar. He lives near the mountains of Asgard, to the border, with the giants."

"What ?" said Loki.

Both he and his brother were not prepared for this news. How could their parents have hidden that from them ? Thor was not pleased.

"But why is he not living with us in the palace ?"

Odin looked at Frigga who was concerned.

"His mother was a giant and he is semi-giant himself. We chose to let him leave somewhere he could be himself without being mocked by everyone for who he is."

"But he is a prince of Asgard. Everyone has to have respect for him !" said Loki exasperated.

"This is a good word from a well educated man. But, unfortunately, every Asgardian is not like that. I ask you to respect our decision and no try to take him back here. Know that he likes his life there."

"We decided to tell you about him because we thought it was time to be honest with you about that", added Frigga. "We trust you with it. Don't betray us."

Loki and Thor agreed and get out of the room. Thor bothered to slam the door to show his displeasure. They needed to speak with each other.

"I can't believe they hid that from us !"

"Shhh", said Loki with a lower voice. "They can still hear us."

"How can you be so calm ? Don't you understand ? He is the king to be !"

"What do you mean ?"

"He is the eldest son."

"You can't be serious. They hid him in the mountains, it is not to put him on the throne, Thor ! Besides why do you think the throne should go to the eldest ? Do I need to remind you that I exist too ?"

"I don't know. I'm sorry. It's just it is shaking everything. I'm a bit lost."

Loki was not pleased either, by his parents secret and Thor's reaction. But he didn't let his emotions out.

"I understand. It is a lot to take. What about the younger one ? Aren't you happy ?"

"Yes, I guess."

"You guess ?"

"And you ?"

"I don't know. I'm wondering how it feels to have a little brother."

"Don't expect too much. They are not very interesting", said Thor without smiling.

Loki tried to slap him but Thor saw it coming and protected himself. Then he tried to answer back and they started laughing. They stopped and sat on the floor.

"Vidar. How is that even a name ?" asked Thor.

"Not as ridicule as others, like Thor", said Loki hiding his face in defense, sure his brother was going to hit him.

"Says the man named Loki…"

"Say what you want, I like it !"

"I was joking, Brother. I propose Odin junior as a first name for our little brother."

"What ?!"

"I heard they call their sons after their fathers by adding "junior" at the end on Midgard."

"Men… How curious species…"

* * *

Thor and Loki were back in the hall with their friends. At first they had tried to hide what their parents wanted them to keep secret but their friends were too curious and finally got to know what happened in the royal apartments.

"Seriously ? Two more princes in Asgard !" said Fandral. "I could barely handle two of them... We're doomed", he added for the attention of Wolfram and Hogun.

"If no one is going to annoy the semi-giant, there is no reason we would have to handle him", said Wolfram.

"And the baby is not born yet. It could be a princess", added Hogun.

"The Gods help the poor girl who would be the sister of Thor and Loki", said Fandral. "I guess she will never see any man and won't be allowed to get out: too much danger outside !"

"For sure, I would protect her !" said Thor with enthusiasm.

"And you Loki ? What do you say about a sister ?" asked Wolfram to the prince.

"I guess it is a possibility."

"I see. You don't care."

Loki was a bit annoyed by the conversation. After all, Thor was the reason their friends were aware of the pregnancy. This idiot couldn't keep his mouth shut more than five minutes ! Whatever Loki was thinking, he didn't want to share it with them. By chance, the rain had stopped and he stood up ready to leave.

"Where are you going ?" asked his brother.

"I don't know. Far from you all."

"Always so kind…" said Wolfram.

Loki didn't answer and went outside, in the gardens of the palace. Finally alone. He started to play with the drops of rain who were still on the flowers. He made them fly and created a water circle moving in the air. Then he made a move with his hand and the circle exploded and watered everything, including him.

"Still not so talented with the water."

Loki turned and saw for the second time in one day the beautiful Amora.

"Actually this was the expected effect", he answered.

"If you say so. Let me show you how I would have made it."

Then she formed the exact same circle than Loki. She made it turn very speedily and then opened her palm. The water made like a big fountain. With the sunbeams, the water was sparkling with a multitude of colours. This was really beautiful.

"I admit that you have some style," he said modestly.

"I take that as a compliment", she said in return.

Thor who had followed his brother in the gardens had seen everything.

"That was amazing, Amora !" he said approaching.

"Prince Thor ! Thank you. It seems you are more inclined to congratulate than your brother."

"Always", answered the prince.

Then he took Amora's hand and made a kiss on it, as a real gentleman. Loki was exasperated. Why did his brother have to always spoil everything ?

"What if you two would organize a little water show for me and our friends ?"

"That's a great idea ! I'm in !" said Amora with enthusiasm.

"Loki, what do you say ?"

"This is not some kind of freakshow. Thank you."

"I never said that !"

"It looks like it !"

"If you don't want to, Amora will do it alone. It looks like she's better than you anyway !"

Thor knew this was exactly what he had to say to push his brother to participate. He always wanted to be the best.

"Fine ! I'll do it."

Amora who had stayed quite during the altercation stepped in.

"If you want something really fun, we should start soon. Otherwise, there won't be enough water to supply anymore."

The sun was drying evreything around.

"Perfect. I'm going to tell them to come."

Thor left the gardens to warn his friends.

"Really ?" asked Loki. "Why did you have to agree with his idea ?"

"Because. It will be fun ! And if you don't want to be part of it, go. I won't hold you back."

Loki stayed.

"So what do we do ?" asked Amora.

When Thor came back with Wolfram, Fandral and Hogun, Loki and Amora had planned everything they wanted to do. More than circles and drops, this time they were forms, like birds, fishes and dragons. They were all chasing each other. When they gathered a dozen of animals, Loki and Amora clapped their hands together and all the water fell into a wave on the four young men who were watching. Amora and Loki were laughing so much that they were almost falling on the ground. Fandral and Wolfram were laughing too. On the other hand, Thor didn't know if he had to do the same or strangle his brother. Hogun was really pissed.

"Next time, don't invite me" only said the Vanir.

And this time Thor chose to laugh too. As for Amora, she was delighted to find some friends again. She hoped it would last, this time.

* * *

The next day, Loki and his friends had passed an exam in the academy. For them the day was off, but for him it was time to meet his mother for his first teleportation. He knew it wasn't the best time to do it, because he was really exhausted, but it seemed like he was always more exhausted than the day before. So he decided to stop losing time.

"Are you sure, you want to do it today ?" asked Frigga.

"Yes. I won't leave the room. There is no need to worry."

His mother didn't say anything and waited. Loki took a deep breath. He tried to become invisible first and did it perfectly at the first attempt. So he was at ease. Then he closed his eyes and remembered what he had to do: think of the place where he wanted to reappear. He let his magic take control over him and felt something strange when he started to disappear. He stayed focus anyway. Something inside him was telling him it was finished, but he was a bit afraid to open his eyes and see it was not.

"You can open your eyes," said his mother.

Loki finally opened them. He was at the place he wanted to be ! It had worked !

"It worked ! I did it, Mother !"

He went to her and took her in his arms. She smiled and hugged him.

"Of course, you did."

"Thank you. Thank you so much."

"There is no bigger reward for me to see you succeed. But don't forget. This is not over. I still need to teach you how to make someone think you are in front of him although you are behind."

* * *

 **Explanations for this chapter:**

 **\- First, allow me to apologize for this long delay in my writing. I have no real excuse.**

 **\- You've all recognized Sif in the first part. And yes, she was blonde, at first ! More of Sif in the chapters to come.**

 **\- Second lady in this chapter: Amora ! For the "history" between Loki and her, please check my first fanfiction "The beginning" where they were children. If you want to discover who I see in this role, please look at my profile and find the "casting" document.**

 **\- About Vidar and the futur little brother of our princes: they both exist in the Norse Mythology AND the Marvel Universe. So don't worry, you'll hear about them soon !**

 **\- And to finish: first teleportation ! Now Loki can be a real trickster ! Mouhaha !**


	4. Chapter 4: The Golden Apples

Loki was thrilled to use his new aptitude during his lessons and even more to play a trick to his brother. He chose one of their numerous training sessions to show it to him and their friends. First Loki fought like every time. Feints, hits and dodges as always. But then he stopped all of a sudden. Thor looked at him, puzzled, but tried to touch him anyway. When his blade passed through his brother, or more exactly: through the shadow of his brother, he was scared that he had killed him. Then he realized that his sword didn't meet any resistance at all and the shadow vanished.

"Confused, Brother ?"

Thor heard his brother from behind. What was this trick ? He turned around.

"Loki ? How did you do that ?"

Their friends were as stunned as Thor.

"Did you just teleport ?" asked Fandral.

"Indeed, I did." answered Loki.

"How ?" asked Wolfram.

"Do you really want to know how my magic works ?"

"No, I mean, since when can you teleport ?"

"Technically I can teleport since a few weeks but create an illusion like this: since yesterday. Be sure I would have use it before if I could have."

"That is fantastic !" said Fandral. "I mean, really, I love it ! I'm sure it can be very useful. Like…"

"Playing tricks to my friends !" interrupted Loki. "I know."

"You could fool an enemy" said Hogun calmly.

"That's why Mother taught it to me in the first place."

"Mother taught you that ?" asked Thor.

"Secretive Loki !" said Fandral. "You never told us that you were taking lessons !"

"Be careful: it will be very hard to beat me now !" warned Loki.

"Do you think you will be allowed to use that in the academy ?" asked Wolfram.

"They would be stupid not to." answered Fandral. "This is obviously something he will use at war."

"Since as long as I can remember, Magic was never allowed in the academy" said Hogun.

Everybody turned to him.

"Why do you always have to be so pessimistic ?" asked Fandral. "Don't listen to him, Loki. I'm sure…"

But Loki wasn't with them anymore. He had disappeared !

"Oh, please…" said Thor. "Loki ! This is not funny ! We need to train !" he shouted all around.

After a few minutes without a single sign from the prince, they started their training without him. But he was not so far…

* * *

From the upper part of the arena, the young lady had watched everything: from Loki's trick to his disappearing. She was very amused and found the prince even more intriguing than before. Lost in her thoughts, she jumped when she heard a voice just next to her. She looked and she saw Loki, seated close to her.

"Prince Loki ! You scared me !"

"I am sorry, Lady… I… I'm sorry, I think I didn't ask your name last time."

"Sif. My name is Sif."

"Then, Lady Sif, I apologize for my startling entrance."

"Apologies accepted." she said smiling.

"So, did you appreciate the show today ?"

"I admit that was quite surprising. You are very good at Magic !"

"Thank you. I like to imagine that it comes naturally but it is also a lot of work."

"I imagine. But it will be very useful in your trainings."

"I don't know… The Academy is not very permissive with Magic. This is more about sword's fights. You, who likes duels, you must understand what I'm talking about."

"Yes, I see."

"I think they would be very displeased if I disappear during a combat. On the other hand, seeing their faces at this moment would be so priceless ! And even more if Thor is here. I can't beat him when he makes his special move. With that, I'm sure to succeed !"

"You mean when he parries and then fends off to give a big hit ?"

"Yes, exactly ! How do you know that ?" asked Loki very impressed. "You must watch us every day !"

"Almost." she admitted blushing. "Is it wrong ?"

"No, no, no. It's just… I don't know any woman, or any man, who watches us this much. I can bet that even our teacher doesn't know that."

Sif made a smile. She was flattered and at the same time she thought that maybe she had gone too far. Would the prince think that she was spying on them ? But her curiosity was stronger.

"I don't understand how he can do it so quickly too. When you take a step back, aren't you not supposed to be just a little bit unbalanced ?"

It was the turn of Loki to be surprised. He squinted his eyes with interrogation.

"Are you, by any chance, used to fight ?"

He guessed ! How could she be so imprudent ! She hesitated on what to answer.

"I…"

"Of course, you are !" he said victorious. "I should have seen it before."

"I'm not very good. I just train with my brother. He taught me some moves and I come here to learn some more."

"Interesting ! I'd like to see us fight each other to appreciate your level, my Lady."

"I don't think it's worth it, my Prince."

"Oh come on… I won't mock you, I promise."

She didn't say anything, nor move. She longed to demonstrate what she knew for so long now. But to the Prince Loki ? She was a bit scared to look stupid.

"Fine." said Loki, seeing she wasn't ready. "But let me ask you one question: why do you train ?"

She knew exactly why she was training but she was not sure it was a good idea to tell it to the prince. This time he would laugh. But then again, her curiosity pushed her to answer:

"I would like to enter into the Royal Academy of War."

"What ?" said Loki lifting up in shock.

"I know. It's stupid, but I keep hope that one day I will be able to do it."

She had said it almost like an excuse. Although Loki was taken aback by the news, he found it in him to answer:

"It's not stupid at all. Everyone should have his chance. I will help you."

"Really ? How ?"

"I can train you !"

She lifted up too.

"No. You don't even know me. What if…"

"I don't need to. Your will speaks through your words. You are sincere and there is no reason why you won't be a good warrior."

"Even the fact that I am a woman ?"

Loki didn't give a response right away. He tried to remember his first conversation with her and something he could use against her.

"If you think that women can't fight like men, I guess, I am of no help here, you are right. But…"

He didn't have time to finish. His plan worked: she went into a huff !

"I never said that ! Even if I fight well, your father will never allow me to enter in the academy."

"You don't know that. If you take part of the tournament at the end of the semester there could be a chance !"

"This is madness ! It's just a foolish dream of mine !"

"When one fight for something he thinks is right, nothing can stop him ! We will meet here tomorrow before sunrise."

At this moment, he disappeared without saying goodbye. Sif dropped on the bench.

"What have I done ?"

* * *

She spent the night wondering what to do. On one hand, training for combat was everything she had always dreamed of. The help of the Prince was unexpected but it was a real chance to turn another corner for her. On the other hand could she really trust the prince ? All she knew about Loki was that he was a trickster and a liar. Maybe the day after he will be in the arena laughing at her for believing his lies. For which woman could ever be a warrior ? She didn't sleep well and she had not decided what to do when she fell asleep.

* * *

It was still dark outside but the prince Loki was already standing in the arena, waiting for a young woman. He was very preoccupied because for once, HE will be the teacher ! He didn't have to bother with respecting the rules but he had to plan the course. The aim of this training was too important to be neglected. He knew he should begin with a test to evaluate the level of his student. That was why he brought two wooden swords with him.

To know what to do next he tried to remember what he did during his fight classes with his mother. They started with basics moves and the position to take and not to. Finally he thought it would be enough for the first course.

The sun was quietly rising and the first sunbeams lighted up Loki's face. That was when he realized that she was late. Maybe he had misinterpreted what she had said earlier and that she didn't want training lessons. Or maybe she wanted them but not with him… He waited 10, 15, 20 minutes cursing the young maiden. 30, 35, 40 minutes and he lost hope when he heard people entering the gardens nearby. It was almost time for him to meet his friends at the academy. He left the arena, disappointed. And more than that: sad. He thought he could make another friend and then again, he was wrong. He should see Amora instead of trying to make a new friend. She looked like she wanted to be part of their group the last time they have seen her.

On his way to the academy, Loki didn't meet Amora but, for the first time in years, her young sister Lorelei. When he was turning a corner, he glimpsed at the corridor and saw her with a guy, laughing like hell. He stayed hidden behind a statue to let them alone, waiting for them to leave to another corridor. But they stayed right where they were.

"I have to go to the academy now, Lorelei."

"I know, but don't you prefer to stay with me ?"

"Of course I do, but I can't miss my class."

Lorelei took the man's hands in hers and looked at him intensely.

"Or maybe we could go outside and stay together the whole day."

Oddly, the man stopped his steps to the door and repeated exactly what she said:

"Or maybe, we could go outside and stay together the whole day."

"I knew you would understand." answered Lorelei with a large smile.

Then they headed outside. While she was at the door, she took a look back right to Loki and winked. When they left the corridor, Loki went out of hiding wondering what he had just witnessed. Was she really able to make people change their mind so easily ? He knew she could use Magic but this was really powerful ! And she had noticed him without seeing him. Maybe he should investigate on her...

* * *

In the main hall of the academy he found his friends among the crowd of students. When the general went on the stage, he didn't have to ask for silence, everybody quieted when they saw him.

"Everyone listens to me very closely ! Today I will explain what awaits you at the end of the semester. I won't repeat myself so be attentive. You will be dispatched in groups. There will be approximately eight groups of eight persons. A fight between the eight students of each group will determine the best two of them. If you are one of these lucky ones, then you will be part of the selective program. The others, you will be part of regular battalions. The evaluation will take place in one month during two days. Four groups will pass the first day and the rest the other day. I count on each and everyone of you to give the best of himself ! Now I want everybody in the barns ! This is riding day !"

What he didn't say was that they won't be allowed to use their hands to lead the horse once they would be on it. It was a training with sword and shield !

The first attempt of Fandral was ludicrous. He kicked his horse with his heels but the horse kicked out and Fandral fell on his back releasing his sword and his shield. Everyone around laughed except the captain.

"Don't laugh, you idiots ! Try to do better than him and we'll see ! Wolfram and Thor you are the next !"

Loki and Hogun, who didn't laugh, were spared but they knew their turn will come. As for Thor and Wolfram they got on their horses and kicked them, swords and shields in their hands. After some steps, Wolfram was so kick up that he fell on the side, rolling on few feet. Thor kept his balance a bit more but he couldn't stop his horse without the reins so the horse came back in his box and Thor fell hitting the top of the roof.

The students were warned but they all laughed anyway. Some of the students passed the test with pride, but the majority fell on the ground with more or less dignity. Loki didn't tell it but he used his magic to stay stable on his horse. After three hours, everyone was capable of doing some steps on a horse armed with a sword and a shield.

"Everyone, listen to me !" said the captain in charge. "You may be more efficient than earlier to make some steps but on a battlefield, your horse will be way faster and the shock of a blade against a blade will be very hard. You should be able to stay on your horse. From what I've seen here, you are far from this result. It's enough for today but don't forget to train. Go groom your horses !"

Each student took back his horse to the stable. Loki, Thor and their friends gathered next to the exit after taking care of their horses.

"To my opinion, we should train in the arena this afternoon with our horses." said Thor. "Like he said, we are not ready at all."

"Please, let our butts rest for some time." argued Fandral.

"No, he is right." said Hogun. "If we want to be well prepared for the end of the month we shouldn't lose time."

"I say, we make a pact that each and everyone of us will be part of the selective group." added Wolfram. "I know we can do it."

"I agree." said Thor.

"I agree too." added Loki.

"If Thor and Loki are in, I can't say no." said Fandral.

Everyone looked at Hogun.

"Fine, I'm in." said the Vanir a bit reluctant. "But we train this afternoon."

* * *

After a good meal, the five friends gathered once more in their favourite arena. They had all taken their horses. Loki saw Sif arriving five minutes after the beginning of their warm-up. But he decided not to pay attention. He had to concentrate and had no time to lose. When one of the fighter was on his horse, the others were giving him advices and helping him to keep his balance. For once, Loki was not doing tricks to them but really helping. Of course, he couldn't resist to mock them from time to time.

"Wolfram, you know we are trying to stay on the horse, not to fall every time, right ?"

"I'm sure, taking the reins with the mouth is not allowed, Fandral !"

After two hours, they decided to trot and then to gallop. What they were missing was the way to stop the horse on command. Most of the time, one of them had to devote himself to stop it by catching the reins. It was really hard, but they were improving. One hour later it was time for the five friends to go back to the palace to rest.

Luckily for Sif, Loki was the last one in the arena. So she decided to get down to meet him.

"Prince Loki, wait !"

The prince was grooming his horse. He lifted his head up and lowered it back like he didn't care.

"Prince Loki, I'm sorry." said Sif approaching.

"I waited for you." he answered angrily.

Sif was blaming herself.

"I know..."

"You know ?" said Loki lifting his head up.

"I saw you leaving."

"So you came."

"I…"

"You came, but you didn't dare to show up. Why ?" he asked squinting his eyes.

"I wasn't sure I could trust you."

"What do you mean ?"

"This would not have been the first time I'm mocked for liking combat."

"Believe me or not, I know what it is to be side-lined for something you like and everybody thinks you should not."

"Are you talking about Magic ?"

"Yes, I am. My own father thinks I should stop. So I'm not here to discourage anyone. Do you still want to be trained ?"

"Yes."

"Do you trust me ?"

"… Yes."

"Then, here, tomorrow, at sunrise."

Sif nodded and Loki took his horse back to the barn. He turned a last time:

"Don't forget to bring your sword."

* * *

This time, she was not late. In fact, she was ahead. She arrived five minutes before Loki. When he saw her, seated in the arena, waiting for him, his heart missed a beat. So, it was becoming real !

"Good morning, Sif."

Sif stood up.

"Prince Loki."

"Please, call me Loki."

The prince had taken the two wooden swords again.

"I thank you for bringing your sword. I will examine it after. For now, we will use these."

Sif looked surprised. Why use wooden swords ? They were not children after all. Loki saw the hesitation in her eyes.

"I don't know if you fight 'well' and I don't want to receive an unexpected hit. We use them at the academy."

"I understand."

"I'm going to evaluate you with a first little combat. I need to see you on defense and on attack. Please, take a sword."

Sif took a sword and hefted it, whirling it around. It was lighter than hers. She would have to adapt to the weight.

"Ready ?" asked Loki while taking his wooden sword.

"Ready."

Loki didn't wait too much. He directly gave her a hit to the shoulder. She stepped back.

"You thought I would spare you ?" he asked with a smirk.

"No. Your rapidity got me."

Loki took a step forward and gave a second hit in her left knee. He didn't held his blow. The pain spread in her whole body. But she was stronger than that. She didn't scream and contained the pain inside. She looked at him proudly, ready to fight this time. She blocked the third attempt of Loki with her sword and tried a move on the side to escape from her enemy. After some exchanges and perilous feints, Loki lift the level up to see how far she could go. After a good defense and some more attacks, Sif overbalanced and fell on the ground. Loki stopped his assaults and gave her his hand to help her to stand up.

"That would be enough." he said.

"You must think me a pretty bad fighter. If you want to go back over your will to help me, I'd understand."

"Not at all. Half of the men at the academy would have fall for my feints and would have fall before you did. You should be more self-confident. I'd say you are a novice with great capabilities. You are clearly not at your best. So I'm going to teach you how to fight properly and you will become the first woman in the academy."

Sif smiled, flattered.

"Do you think what you are saying ? Because if you don't, don't make me believe. Don't give me hope for nothing."

"Of course, I do. Allow me one question: why don't you go to the Valkyries ? They would be the perfect match for you."

"I believed it too once. But they don't really liked me and I realized that I don't share their vision."

"About what ?"

"About life. About men."

"Oh… Right." said Loki ill-at-ease. "Well, I'm glad to hear about it ! I would have been sad to lose you."

Seriously. Did he really said that ? It made him realize that in fact he was a bit attracted to this woman. Otherwise he would have not been saying silly things like that.

"You think the women who go to the Valkyries are lost people ?" she asked.

Loki chose to go for sincerity for once.

"To men at least. Yes."

There was an awkward silence after these words. Neither Loki nor Sif found out what to say. Finally Loki spoke:

"You never told me who your brother was. Maybe I know him."

"Oh. Yes, you do. It's Heimdall."

"What ? The Gatekeeper !" said Loki surprised. "But I didn't even know he had a sister."

"Now you do !" answered Sif. "But you seem upset..."

"No. Not at all. I'm just wondering if he would approve your training."

"I don't need it."

"Need what ?"

"My brother's approbation."

"Good. Then we will meet here again tomorrow. I don't want to be late at the academy."

"Thank you Loki. See you tomorrow." she said.

The prince took Sif's sword with him leaving the young lady alone in the arena. She sat in the first row of the seats and dusted the sand on her clothes and boots.

" 'Novice with great capabilities'. " she said with pride, lifting his chin up.

Then she stood up, took the wooden swords and left the arena too.

* * *

The day after, Loki came back with Sif's sword.

"I don't know where you found it but it is clearly not the one you will use in the future."

"What do you mean ? I don't have any other sword."

"I asked the blacksmith to forge you one."

"But I have nothing to pay him !"

"Don't worry. I paid him myself."

"You shouldn't have. I am in your debt now."

"Don't say that before having it !"

"No, I mean it !"

"As you wish, young lady. Now, en garde !"

Loki threw a wooden sword to Sif starting directly with an attack on the side. The young maiden had just the time to take a step back. After some moves, Loki and Sif took a break.

"I took shields with me today. I think you would have a good use of it. For now you only dodge by escaping. Now you will face the hits. On the battlefield you will have big men with big arms and big swords. So you have to be ready to receive hard strikes. Your shield will help you in that task but the strength of your arm will determine if you'll hold out or not. Take this one." said Loki giving Sif a small shield.

"Is it not a bit too small to protect me ?"

"Your shield allows you to ward off the hits. It doesn't need to protect all of you. Only the part your enemy was targeting. Moreover a shield to massive would only hamper you. Your moves will be smoother with this one."

"Fine, I'll try."

During an hour, Loki taught to Sif how to use her shield and how to remove the one of her enemy. At the end, they were both dirty after falling and falling again on the sand of the arena.

"You're good." said simply Loki.

"Thank you." she answered embarrassed. "I should go now. I have to wash."

"See you later, Sif."

"See you, Loki."

She left the arena with a smile to the prince. He was proud of her and proud of him: her for being such a good student and him for managing to be a good teacher. He was enjoying sparing time with her. He hoped she was feeling the same.

* * *

The days who passed had the same routine. Loki was meeting Sif early in the morning, teaching her something new each time. His student was very painstaking. She learnt very fast and took advantage of him several times. Then he tried to increase difficulty by using Magic against her.

"This is unfair. I don't know how to avoid your spells. And Magic is not permitted during the contest."

"I am not preparing you for the contest. Or not only. Battlefield is all. You need to be ready. There will be men, beasts, magicians. You need to be prepared for everything !"

"Fine ! But don't send me your fireball without telling me how I can destroy them."

"You can't. Only a wizard can."

"Great ! Then what should I do ?"

"All the projecting spells, you must avoid them and protect yourself. About people who can appear and disappear, I can tell you what to do. I can teach you how to detect when the person will do it."

"I'd like that !"

This teaching was clearly the most difficult. He was trying to get Sif able to guess when he was going to use Magic. He realized during the lesson that in fact he was teaching her how to be better than him !

"You see, if I'm concentrating to teleport, I can't be a hundred per cent in our fight and you can see it when I stop moving, or at least, moving fast. I guess the best magicians are difficult to read but nothing is impossible with training."

"For now, I still can't guess when YOU will disappear, so let's talk about better magicians another time."

"As you wish, my lady."

Loki gave threw a fireball to Sif but she avoided it with her shield.

"Be careful with your shield and the fireball. This is a wooden one, it could burn. Either I can put a spell on it to be protected or you could acquire a better one."

* * *

At the end of the day, Loki was really tired. He got up really early in the morning to give lessons to Sif and he had been busy all the time since that moment. After Sif, he had met his friends at the academy, training and training again. After that he had come to his mother apartments to take another lesson on teleportation. Now he was just exhausted. His only wish was to find his bed back. But Thor had come to him to invite him to the tavern with their friends so he couldn't say no. Here he was, sitting at a table with a beer he had not even taste.

"I don't know if your magic is taking all your life out of you, Loki, but you seem absent." said Fandral a bit worried by his friend's silence.

"I'm good, thank you" answered the prince. "A bit tired, that's all."

Then he stood up.

"I will go back to my chamber if it doesn't bother you."

He took some steps. His brother and his friends were watching him very concerned. He had merely reach the door that he fell on the floor. Unconscious….

* * *

When he woke up, he was laying on his bed in his bedroom. His mother was there on a chair. She managed to do a smile to her son.

"What did happen ?" he asked her.

"Your brother told us that you have fallen on the floor in a tavern. And that you were not drunk."

"I was not. How long did I stay unconscious ?"

"You woke up in the night but I made you sleep until this morning."

"Mother…"

"It was for your own good. Now tell me what happened ?"

"Me ?"

"Why did you fall ?"

"I guess I am a bit tired."

"Yes, Thor told me that too. But, Loki, tell me the truth."

"This is the truth. I train hard at the academy and I use a lot of magic during my lessons with you."

"It didn't bother you last month…"

Loki didn't answer to his mother. He didn't want to talk about Sif.

" So you don't want to talk about her." said his mother.

"What ?" asked Loki surprised.

Could she read his mind ?

"If you don't want to talk about her, that is fine. But just so you know: she told me about it."

"Sif talked to you ?"

"Yes."

"What did she say ?"

"She told me that you were "helping" her. Does this "help" have something to do with your fainting ?"

Loki weighed the pros and cons and decided to talk to his mother.

"Yes."

"Can I suggest you to stop "helping" her. For your sake."

"No, I can't."

"I had the feeling you would answer me that."

"It's just… I made her a promise. I can't broke it."

"Then I'll stop my lessons. You need to rest."

"But, Mother... I need to do Magic."

"I don't know what you mean by 'I need to' but teleportation is asking you too much. Do what you want, but don't try to teleport until I said it."

"Fine…"

"Now I have to leave. I think that someone wants to see you."

As soon as Frigga left the room, Thor came in.

"Brother ! We were so worried !"

"Don't be anymore. I'm fine. I worked a bit too much yesterday."

"Yesterday, and the day before, and the day before. You train at the academy, then with us and then you go to Mother for Magic lessons. Of course, it's too much !"

Thor was right and he didn't even know that Loki was training with Sif…

"I know. Mother told me to stop doing Magic until further notice."

"Good idea !"

* * *

In the high tower of the palace, Odin and Frigga were talking about the future event. A big event which would take place in a few days. The Golden Apples Day. Every five years, the king was gathering all the young Asgardians who were about twenty years old. This was time for them to eat their first Golden Apple. The apple capable of keeping them young. It was time for Odin and Frigga to see their sons becoming adults and eat their first Golden Apple.

"This time again we must organize a ball, I presume ?" asked Odin.

"Of course we do. This is not like the other times. Remember that this time, our sons are going to be part of it."

"I know…"

"You wish they wouldn't ?"

"No, but they are still so young."

"Yes they are. But they also attend the Royal Academy. It is teaching them a lot."

"I hope you are right."

"Can I launch the ball then ?"

"Of course."

Frigga was very happy. She left the room by teleportation and arrived directly to the kitchens to inform the cook about the event to come.

* * *

In just a couple of days, the whole kingdom was aware of the banquet organized in the palace of Asgard. Young people from all the countries were coming to the capital. The city was bustling with life. Loki was in a good shape again and was striding in the alleys to reach Sif's door. He didn't kept his prince's clothes to stay unseen but he still had his green cape. When he finally arrived after shoving a dozen people, he was out of breath. He took some time to settle and knocked at the door. After a while, someone opened it but it was not Sif. Luckily for Loki, neither was it Heimdall.

"What is it ?" asked the stranger.

"I am here for Sif. Can I talk to her ?"

"Yes. Who should I usher ?"

"The prince Loki of Asgard."

The woman had a moment of absence and she spoke.

"Oh, I am sorry, my Prince. If you may come in."

Loki took off his hood when he came in. The woman called Sif and retired. When the young maiden appeared she seemed a bit upset but also curious.

"What are you doing here, my Prince ?"

Although she ended his sentence with courtesy, her tone was clearly not peaceful.

"Sif, I am sorry I let you down all these days but I wasn't well. I told my doctors to let me go, but my mother didn't have the same opinion."

"What happened to you ?"

"I...fell unconscious. I guess I gave too much of myself recently. It took some time to recover, but I am well now."

"And I was cursing you already. I am sorry… I misjudged you again."

"Don't worry. I am used to it… But if you want to do something to be forgiven, I would be delighted to see you at the ball for the Golden Apples Day."

"You will be there ?"

"Yes, of course, I am one of the entrant this year. I fear I will get bored quickly if you don't come to save me from the courtiers."

"Don't you have friends there ? And your brother ?"

"Yes, I do. But they drink so much that they will lose all interest after the first hour. So will you come ?"

"I don't know. I don't feel at ease in this kind of event."

"I understand. Then if you come, it will be the best surprise of my day. Have a good day and see you in three days for your next training anyway."

"Yes, see you soon, Loki."

* * *

In the palace, everyone was running everywhere. There were so many things to do, to prepare, to organize. There was a role for everyone. Even Thor, Fandral and Wolfram were helping or were trying to help. They were in charge of the routing of the drinks. As saying that they were already drunk when the celebration began.

In the meantime, Loki was in his room doing Magic for he couldn't go without it. He missed his lessons with his mother. So he managed to create some challenges on his own. At the end of the afternoon he decided to get ready for the evening. Leather jacket, black boots, a golden set for his wrists and torso and of course his green cape, everything was in place. He got down the stairs to the main hall and came face to face with his former friend Amora.

"Lady Amora, I am glad to see you. You are ravishing tonight !"

And indeed she was with her green gown and all her golden jewellery.

"Prince Loki, you are too kind."

"I just speak the truth."

"You ! Speaking the truth ? Are you ill ?"

They both laughed.

"Joking aside, I would be honoured to enter the gardens with you, said Amora. Moreover I find us very well-matched tonight. It would be a shame to appear separately."

"How could I refuse such a demand ? But know one thing, I may not be alone tonight."

Amora looked at Loki with a questioning gaze but didn't ask anything. Loki took Amora's arm on his and they headed to the gardens.

"If you have someone, then I should probably find someone else." said Amora. "I don't want to get someone jealous."

"It would be wise. May I suggest one of my friends Wolfram, Hogun, even Fandral…"

"Or Thor !" she said with enthusiasm. "Will you speak to him for me ? I fear he is not very interested in me at the moment."

Loki was not very happy to lose Amora to his brother, but tonight he was supposed to meet Sif, so there was no room for Amora.

"Yes, I will."

* * *

In Idunn's garden, where the ceremony was taking place, it was very crowded. Amora and Loki had to approach and climb on a scene for there were both going to eat their first Golden Apple. Loki was looking for his brother but he didn't find him in the mass. Finally it was time to begin and the king Odin himself spoke:

"Asgardians, please welcome tonight the future of our kingdom. By eating their first Golden Apple, these young people will be considered as adults. The idea of being adult implies the responsibilities and the duties they will have to accomplish. With this spirit they will eat the Apple. Please, welcome them as ours."

Everyone applauded and waited for further information.

"Now, please eat your apple."

On the scene there were dozens of baskets filled with Idunn's apples. All the participants pounced on them. After a while everyone had have a bite. Some were joking about the fact that they were already feeling the difference. Others were trying to eat as many apples as they can to become younger. Luckily, Idunn was there to calm everyone.

"People of Asgard, I am delighted to see that my apples are still appreciated by all of you. Now the King is inviting you to join the celebration hall to start the banquet."

Everyone applauded again and headed to the palace. Loki followed the crowd inside and stopped at the entrance. He tried to recognize his brother or at least his friends but they were nowhere to be seen. All of Asgard was here. It was impossible to find someone. Loki was searching for a friendly face when he was accosted by Lorelei.

"Prince Loki, you seem a bit lost."

"Lorelei ! Happy to see you again after all this time, declared Loki." omitting willingly to talk about the mysterious scene he had observed a few days earlier.

"You mean since you spied on me in the corridor the other day, she said giving a wink."

So she didn't deny it. Loki felt free to develop the subject.

"Now that you speak of it, what happened this day ? I suspect you're for something in the decision he made."

"What you mean is that I used magic. Is that your question ?"

Lorelei didn't have change at all. She was always getting straight to the point. It was also a way to say "I know what you think". And it was a bit disturbing. But he admitted it nevertheless.

"Yes."

"Then the answer is 'yes'. I did use magic. I can't help it. It comes naturally when it comes to men. Now, is the interrogatory finished or do you have other questions for me, my Prince ?"

"I'm sorry if it looked like an interrogatory. I didn't mean to be rude. I was just curious."

"Let's forget about it. I was wondering..."

But Loki wasn't paying attention to her anymore. He was looking above Lorelei's shoulder. Lorelei saw his gaze and turn back to look at what was disturbing the prince. It was a girl ! She was resplendent. Her golden hair were drilling down on her shoulders and her silver gown was drawing her curves to perfection. Her nude arms were revealing her strong musculature but she was still very gracious in her way to move.

"I'm sorry." said Loki as an excuse and left Lorelei alone to greet the Lady Sif.

Lorelei was astonished by the prince's attitude. How could he prefer another girl to her ?

"This is far from over. You haven't seen the last of me, my prince." she said out loud but more for herself than for Loki.

He didn't even bother to answer her.

"You came."

"Yes, I'm here." answered Sif.

She was impressed by the size of the room and the richness of the palace.

"To what do I owe finally the pleasure of your presence ?"

"I decided you may really need me to save you from boring people."

"And you were right !"

"Do I have to understand that the lovely girl who is killing me by thoughts is boring ?"

"Be careful with this girl. She's a sorceress. I've seen her put a magic spell on a man to make him do whatever she wanted."

"Good. I'm not a man !"

Loki and Sif didn't have the time to say more. Thor popped up next to them.

"Loki, would you be kind to introduce me to your lovely guest ?"

"Of course. This is the Lady Sif. Sif, you surely know my brother, Thor."

Thor took Sif's hand and gave a kiss on it.

"I am delighted to be acquainted with you Lady Sif."

"The pleasure is mine, Prince Thor."

"Please, call me Thor."

Once again, Thor was spoiling a wonderful moment in Loki's life. On top of that he was drunk and he had came with his friends, also drunk.

"Lovely young lady, I am Fandral and I would be pleased to be your escort tonight."

"I'm afraid the lady Sif has already an escort tonight." said Loki.

"And who's that ?" asked Wolfram hardly standing on his feet.

"Me, of course." answered Loki.

"How lucky you are, Brother !" said Thor.

"I should go back to my room." said Wolfram. "I don't feel very well. Where is Hogun ? He could accompany me, I'm sure I am going to collapse on the way."

"Yes, where is he ?" asked Loki. "Have you already lost him ?"

"No, he never came." said Fandral. "I think he doesn't like when there is too many people."

"Hogun doesn't like when there is people, period." said Thor.

The friends laughed a lot mocking the Vanir. Finally Wolfram left the banquet, Fandral met two more girls and went to dance with both of her and Thor chose to find more drink. Loki and Sif were alone again. They looked at the hall. Half the people in the room was eating and drinking, the other half was dancing. Everybody was enjoying the night.

"Do you know how to dance, Loki ?"

"I took lessons, I know how to dance. Being good at it is a different thing. And you ?"

"Someone taught me how."

"Tell me it's not your brother !"

"No, it's not."

"I'm relieved ! I don't imagine him dancing."

"Neither do I. So, someone taught me to, but the result is not at the level of the teaching."

"So, we agree to say that we are not going to dance tonight, right ?"

"Of course, we are not. We would only make ourselves ridiculous."

From afar, Loki saw his mother looking at them. She was coming.

"Loki, are you enjoying the night ?"

"Yes, I am, Mother."

"Good. Lady Sif, I am happy to see you tonight."

"I am honoured to be your guest, Majesty."

A bit shy, Sif tried to escape the conversation.

"I am going to find a drink. See you later, Loki. Your Majesty." she said bowing.

She left so rapidly that Loki didn't have the time to intervene.

"You should dance with her." said Frigga.

"With Sif ? No. She doesn't like that."

"Did she say so ?"

"No, but I'm sure that…"

"She is waiting for you to ask."

"But we just talked about it and we have decided not to."

"If you don't want to dance with her, I won't enforce your consent. You are the only judge..."

Frigga left his son alone and came back near her husband. As for Sif, she was already coming back to Loki with a mug full of ale.

"Would you like some ?" she asked him.

Loki was lost in his thoughts. Maybe he should ask her. Deep inside he knew he wanted it, but what if she didn't ? I finally pluk up courage and asked:

"Sif, would you dance with me ?"

Sif was ill-at-ease. She put down her mug on a table.

"Loki, I don't know what to say."

"I am sure, you could remember well your lessons."

"I will tell you the truth. I have three options. The first one is to run away like a coward, afraid of being ridiculous."

"But you are not this kind of person, are you ?"

"No, I'm not."

"Then what is the second choice ?"

"The second choice is to say 'no'. A courageous choice, but not very polite when the demand comes from a prince."

"Is the Lady Sif a polite young maiden ?"

"She is. So it leaves me only one choice: to say 'yes'."

"Because I'm a prince ?"

"Because you are my friend. And I want to laugh at you when you will make your first steps."

She laughed and Loki laughed with her.

"We will see which one of us will be the most ridiculous, impudent young lady !"

He reached out his hand and Sif gave him hers. They moved forward to the dancefloor. At first they were both intimidated and clumsy. They didn't know if the other would accept a hand here or to be this close. Loki took a deep breath and started to dance driving her partner with him. After few steps they relaxed and were twirling among the others as they were both confirmed dancers.

"You seem to cope very well for someone who was not 'at the level of the training'.", said Sif.

"You are not bad either." said Loki, avoiding to answer.

"Then it makes us both liars." she said with a smile.

Loki smiled at her too. They were so close... He didn't know if he had already been this close with a woman. He would rather deny it, but his heartbeat was increasing and his breath was faster than before. She was looking deep in his eyes. He knew something was happening. There was something between them at this moment. He would have wished it never to stop. But the music came to an end. It took them a moment to separate from each other. The link between them really broke when Thor came to them. Still a bit drunk.

"Brother, I didn't know you were dancing so well."

"From the look everyone is giving us, I guess neither did Asgard." said Sif.

Loki looked around him and saw a lot of people looking at them. During the dance, he didn't realized they were spied on. And now he was embarrassed...

"Let's drink a little." he said, taking Sif and Thor by the arm, heading to the corner where they were serving ale.

Happy to return to the shadows, Sif followed her partner. But there were still whispers about them in the crowd.

"Loki, you are always asking for some attention. I think you'd got it !"

"Laugh as much as you want, Brother. I don't see why we should be ashamed."

"You tell me ! You chose to hide in this corner instead of dancing again !"

"If this is all it takes, then we will dance again. Come with me Sif !"

"I don't think it's a good idea, Loki." said Sif. "I'd rather visit the gardens alone for them to shut up."

"Well, I see you're both ill-at-ease." said Thor. "I will accompany the lady Sif to the gardens and Loki... Feel free to do whatever you want."

Loki took his brother by the arm. First he didn't want him to be alone with Sif, in part because he was drunk. But he had also something to say to him.

"Brother, let her go. I need to talk to you."

"Fine. See you later, lady Sif."

Sif came out and Loki was alone with his brother. He was now free to tell him about Amora. But it wasn't what she expected him to say.

"Speak, Brother. Nothing serious, I hope. I'm not in the mood tonight."

"I fear it is. It is about Amora... I think she is on to you..."

"And ?"

"And that's all. You should be careful. She is smart, she is a witch. You need to protect yourself from what she could do to you."

"She is just Amora. What could she do to me ? I am a Prince of Asgard !"

"Exactly ! You don't know what she wants, so be careful."

"Oh, I know exactly what a girl wants from me !" said Thor with a large smile, implying things Loki didn't want to hear.

Clearly Thor wasn't understanding what he was saying. He would have continue to convince his brother but out of nowhere, Amora showed up next to the princes. She was furious.

"Thank you for your help, Loki ! Next time, I will do it by myself !"

Loki didn't know what to do. Obviously sha had heard everything. So he tried to apologize.

"Amora, I'm sorry !"

"What did I do to you for you to be so hateful ? I thought we were friends again ! I'm a witch so what ? Aren't you not a wizard too ?"

Amora left them, running in the hall. Everyone was looking at her and, for the second time during the night, at Loki too. Loki didn't care what people would say. He didn't have the heart to let her go like that so he followed her in the corridors of the palace.

"Amora, wait ! I'm really sorry !"

She stopped in the middle of a corridor and turn round.

"No ! You don't mean a word of what you are saying ! You are the best liar of Asgard. The so called "Silvertongue". The God of Mischief. How did I ever believe that your friendship was real ?"

"You are wrong. Thor is not good for you…"

"So I am not the problem ! Your brother is ? Did you change your mind or is it another flip of yours ?"

"No, this is what I think."

"Do you mean you could be a better match for me ?"

"Yes !"

"You are lying ! Again ! I have seen you with this girl. Everyone have seen you. You didn't care at all with whom I would be tonight."

"No, I thought you had found someone, Fandral or..."

"Well, don't bother anymore, I am leaving."

"What !? Where ?"

"Anywhere."

"Don't be stupid. Where would you go ? Your family is here."

"My family ? You mean my sister. She cares about me as much as you do. But don't worry, we will see each other again. And you will pay for your lies. When you will feel safe, on top of everyone and everything, I will be the one taking you down. Remember me when you'll fall."

Amora turned and started to walk again.

"Amora ! Come back !"

But she didn't listen to him and Loki didn't follow her this time. He decided to come back to the party before Sif left. He knew it wasn't a good thing to have annoyed the two sisters in one night. He was sure they were spiteful. He just didn't know how much...

"Who was this girl ?" asked Sif. "She seemed very upset."

"Yes, she was. She is Lorelei's sister. She is an enchantress too. And she is mad at me."

"Why ?"

"Nothing very interesting... Would I have the honour of taking you home ?"

* * *

 **Sorry it took me sooooo long to post a new chapter.**

 **Explanations for this chapter:**

 **\- For the history between Lorelei and Loki, please read my first fanfiction 'The Beginning'.**

 **\- This is strange but in the Marvel Universe, Heimdall and Sif are really brother and sister. So I put that in my fanfiction too.**

 **\- The Golden Apples as I see them: They are known for their power of keeping people young. The Asgardians, who eat them regularly, can have something like 'eternal life' thanks to them. Remember Odin and Loki in TDW: "** **We're born, we live, we die, just as humans do."/"Give or take five thousand years." thanks to the apples ! So I imagined that the Asgardians don't eat them until they are 'ready' to be adult and the apples keep them young as much as they can. Obviously Odin is very very old because although he still eat them, he looks old.**

 **\- About Loki's relationship with Amora and Lorelei: With the first one this is a real waste because they are so alike. The character of Amora is known for being attracted to Thor, but at least she could have been a good friend to Loki. Destiny, you know... They will see each other again, don't worry. But not yet, not yet. About the other sister: This is complicated. I see Lorelei like someone very proud, she believes to be above every one. But there is one thing in Loki that intrigues her. Because he is the only one who resists her, she is (in a way) attracted to him.**


	5. Chapter 5: The tournament

After the ball, everything got back to normal. No one talked about that night. First there were those who were too drunk to remember anything like Wolfram and Fandral, those who didn't appreciate it like Lorelei, and the others like Loki who would have liked to forget what happened. Only Thor had brought back the subject once, to tickle his brother about his dancing skills. As Loki didn't even acknowledge his brother had talked to him, Thor didn't give it another shot.

Though someone would have liked to talk about it: Sif. She had thought about it many times... But it seemed it was never the good moment to speak. She imagined herself saying something like "It was great the other day when we danced." or "I like spending time with you." but every time she was thinking "Oh by the Nine Realms, it sounds so girly and so stupid!". Moreover, if Loki wanted to say something about it, he could have had. After all, it was him who asked her to come to the ball and to dance with him. So, if he was staying quiet, she would too. Instead, she chose to speak about War, combats and other manly subjects that she was not ashamed to talked about. Sadly, they had not spent time together, except for training, since that night. And it appeared it would never come...

* * *

As always, Loki and Sif were in the arena to train soon in the morning. Although Loki's friends knew that Loki and Sif had met somewhere, they had not asked where. So, no one was aware of their meetings in the arena.

Loki was, once again, using his ability to disappear against his learner. She had become good at guessing where he was going to reappear. Obviously, the prince would reappear where he could take the best of her quickly so she was consciously letting a breach in her defence so that he would inevitably use it.

Loki didn't see her riposte coming, she destabilized him and he started to fall, but he hanged on her and she fell with him. She was now on top of him, lying on the floor. Their eyes met and they stayed like that without moving, each of them afraid that the spell would be broken at any movement. Suddenly, Loki toppled on the side and took the upper position. He was now on top of her, pinning her on the ground. He extended his hand on the right and made his blade appear in it. He pointed it to Sif's throat and said:

"Never let your guard down!"

He stood up, then helped Sif to do the same.

"On the battlefield, you would be dead by now."

She didn't say anything, still trying to recover after this situation.

"And next week, you would have lost your place to the academy. Sif, are you listening to me?"

"Yes, I'm sorry."

"Fine."

"But you know there will be no magic, right?"

"Of course, I know that. It's just… you stared, didn't try anything…"

All she was thinking was "Anything, like what?" but she remembered on time that Loki was speaking about the combat.

"No, I'm sorry… I was destabilized."

"By what? You were the one who took me by surprise."

"Don't act like you don't know. You stared too."

This time, Loki didn't answer. "So, she had felt it too" he thought. But he didn't know what to say.

Luckily for him, someone was coming in the arena. The man was a student from the academy and was holding a sword. He asked:

"What are you doing here so early, my Prince, and in a such lovely company?"

Sif looked at Loki, Loki looked at her. She was a bit panicked.

"I was showing to the lady how good I am at daggers and swords."

The man looked at the sword and the shield on the ground and at Sif.

"If it doesn't bother you, my Prince, I'd like to train in this arena for next week."

"No problem at all. We were finished anyway."

Loki left the arena, leaving Sif with the man. She smiled at him, not knowing at all what to say. She took her sword and her shield back. The man looked at her, puzzled.

3What do you think you're doing with that sword, girl?"

Sif squinted of anger and looked at him.

"You want to see what I'm thinking to do to you with this sword?"

The man laughed.

"Ow! Snappish! I'd like to see that."

Sif didn't wait long before giving the first blow. The man was startled but avoided it at the last second. They fought two minutes and finally Sif decided it was time to end the combat. She disarmed him and pointed the point of her blade at his chest.

"What the Hel?" he said looking at his opponent.

"Don't ever talked to me like that again. Understood?"

The man, ordinary smug, hold his tongue and nodded.

She left the arena, proud of herself. Maybe she could actually win the duel during the test at the academy.

* * *

Loki didn't tell Sif but he thought her ready for the tournament. The only problem was that she was not part of the academy yet, so she was not allowed to participate to it. He was sure Sif could do her part but now he had to keep his promise and get her to this test. For that, he knew he had to speak with his father and ask him the permission. What he didn't figure out was how to present the thing to him. He had thought of bring it to the table just like that but he was not his brother. He presumed his request would be refused. Maybe he could come with Sif directly and prove to his father that she was worthy by fighting her. But it would not be good to be beaten in front of his father just before the tournament. So, he thought that maybe, his brother Thor could help him. Odin would never refuse something to his elder son.

"A girl? At the academy? Are you out of your mind, Brother?"

"You didn't listen, did you?"

"Of course, I did, but it seems crazy, don't you think?"

"I know it's a long shot but you should see her. She is capable of doing it!"

"If I help you, you'd rather be right..."

"Thank you!"

"I didn't say I would do it. I can consider it, if I see her fighting."

"Good!"

"By the way, why don't you go to Father yourself?"

"You know he will disagree if it's just me…"

"You should give yourself more credit, Brother. Father is just. What he allows me, he would allow you."

Loki looked away and clenched his jaw. If only...

* * *

Loki went to Sif and set out the situation. She agreed to make a demonstration for Thor but not without reluctance.

"Why does he not trust you? He could just take your word for it."

"This is a big deal. He must be a hundred percent sure of the cause he will support."

"Alright. So, when do we start?"

"He is already waiting for us in the arena."

On their way to the courtyard, Sif shared her concern about her participation to the tournament.

"Maybe we could still back off. Maybe we're just too fool to believe in such a miracle."

"Well, let's see if we are at least three!"

Sif let escape a smile and they reached Thor in the arena.

"Lady Sif, I'm delighted to see you again."

"The pleasure is mine, Prince Thor."

"I told you, you could call me Thor."

Loki and Sif took position and started to fight on Thor's signal. They had fought so many times alone that it was almost too intimate to show their skills in front of someone, mostly for Sif who had never fought in public.

They began to move faster and Loki used his magic abilities. They were sure it would impress Thor and make him take his decision in their favour. After a few minutes, Thor made them stop.

"Alright, I'm in! I'll see what I can do for you, Lady Sif."

"Thank you. I really appreciate it", said Sif.

"So, what do we do, Brother?" asked Thor.

"We go ask Father, of course!"

"What? Now?" asked Sif panicked.

"Yes! There is no time to lose."

"But maybe I should decide what to say, how to ask or something?"

"Just be yourself", said Loki. "I'll do the talking and Thor will back me up if I need it. That, I don't doubt a second."

They headed towards the throne room where certainly was the All-Father.

* * *

The throne room was stunning, especially as the throne was very imposing. Odin was sitting on it, visibly tired of hearing the Asgardians complaints all day long. When Loki, Sif and Thor entered the room, Odin thought, at first, that they needed him as a father and not as the All-Father.

"My sons, this is not a good time. I am in the midst of a session of grievances.

"This is exactly why we are here, Father."

"Alright. What could I do for you? Don't you have everything you need already?"

"Actually", said Loki, "we are here for our friend, the Lady Sif."

Loki let Sif take a step forward and she kneeled before the king.

"Stand up, young lady. What is it you wish me to do?"

"She is…" started Loki, but the All-Father interrupted him.

"Has she lost her tongue?" he asked.

Obviously, he wanted to hear the request from Sif's mouth herself.

"No, I have not", she answered.

She gave a look to Loki who nodded to encourage her to speak.

"I would like to be part of the Royal Academy of War, Your Majesty."

If the All-Father was surprised, he didn't let anything show on his face.

"So, you are a warrior."

"I wish to become one."

"If that is true, may I ask why you didn't consider joining the Valkyries?"

"I had. I am a woman of combat, but I don't adhere to their principles."

"Which are?"

"In order to train themselves, they retired from the world and organized their own community from which any other people are banished and mostly men. They brandish the end of freedoms as a loyalty pledge. I don't believe in that."

"If you think you will be free to do whatever pleases you in the Royal Academy of War, you are misled."

"No, of course. I know that protecting the kingdom is a serious matter and I would take it as my duty."

"You seem to be sincere, Lady Sif. Now, I'm sorry but the only way of entering the Academy is to pass the exam of the beginning of the year. It was months ago."

"If I can interfere, Father, I thought that maybe, if she was taking part of the tournament in two days, she would prove her worth to you and earn a place among us at the academy. I thought that you could trust your sons, that if we believe in someone, you could do the same…", said Loki.

Odin didn't answer to his son first. He took a minute to do it.

"Well, you are wrong. I trust both of you, but I can't agree to that, only on your kind word."

Loki was disappointed. But he knew it would happen. So, he gave a look to Thor.

"Father, I've seen her fight against Loki and she did really great. Maybe if they show you, you would take another decision", said Thor.

"Fine. You seem to have enchanted both of my sons, Lady Sif. You will fight one of them and the winner will take part of the tournament in two days."

"Wait, and what about the one who loses?"

"If you do not win, you will return to your normal life. If you do win, well, Loki or Thor will stay at the academy and will not take part of the tournament and have a chance to win a place in the selective program."

Loki and Thor looked at each other. Loki let a breath out and spoke first.

"But this is unfair..."

"Is it unfair to let her a chance?" asked Odin.

"I cannot accept this offer, All-Father", said Sif. "Your sons are good enough to win this tournament."

"I don't refute the fact that they both deserve to participate to the tournament. But do they believe in you enough to give it up?"

"I do", said Loki. "I will fight her."

"No!" said Sif. "I won't let you! Your Majesty", she said turning to the all-Father, "I won't fight him. Loki means well but I refuse to let him spoil his future for mine."

Loki didn't know what to do or to say to make her change her mind, so he decided to do what he was sure to manage to succeed: he cast a spell. No one noticed anything. Sif didn't stop to speak but she was telling something else entirely:

"All-Father, I am completely willing to participate to the tournament. I will fight one of your sons to earn a chance to win and show you that I am worthy."

As she was saying it, she was frowning eyebrows.

"Yes, yes, I will do it", she added.

Odin didn't understand what had changed her mind so suddenly but he was pleased that a solution had been found.

"Alright then! Tomorrow morning, in the arena!"

Sif was now looking at Loki with an angry eye. He took her by the arm and get out of the throne room. Thor followed them, a bit confused.

* * *

When they reached the gardens, Loki let go off Sif's arm and Thor asked:

"What is it with the two of you?"

"This is me", said Loki. "I cast a spell on her."

"What?!"

"I know… I should not have done that, but she was going to lose everything!"

"What did he do to you?" asked Thor to Sif.

"I say exactly what I want to say", answered Sif.

"Actually, she says exactly the contrary of what she wants to say."

"Right! I understand now, why she changed her mind so quickly!"

"It was the only solution… I'm sorry Sif…"

"Will it last long?" asked Thor.

"No. I guess only a few minutes more."

"I love you!" shouted Sif.

"I guess that she hates you, Brother."

"I understand your feeling, Sif, but first there is still a chance that I go to the tournament. After all, I'm not so bad at combat! Secondly: maybe there is a chance that the two of us go if we impress him."

"Oh really? And what chance do we have to reach this point, mister Silvertongue?"

"Good! The spell is broken!" said Thor.

"I don't know", said Loki. "Maybe none, but it's worth a try."

"So, what do we do?"

"We fight and we pray the Nine Realms that he stops us and says that we both go to the tournament."

"Very good plan", said Sif ironic. "I prefer mine: I give up and you go!"

"This is your dream, Sif! I promised to help you. Now that I'm doing it, don't push me away."

"Open your eyes, Loki. This is your future as a Prince of Asgard! I can't take that from you."

"This is funny, you are so sure of winning!"

"No, I'm not."

"Then why are you so afraid for me and not for you?"

"Because I know that you will let me win. Am I wrong?"

"Yes, you are! I can promise you that I will fight fair and square."

"You will?"

"I will", said Loki.

As he said that, he disappeared.

"Loki, come back!" said Sif. "We are not finished!"

Loki was looking at her from a distant window in the palace.

"Or at least I'll make it look that way..."

* * *

The next morning, Loki and Sif were preparing for the duel. Thor was helping them to take up arms.

"I propose to use Magic", said Loki.

"What? Why?" asked Sif. "It is forbidden!"

"No! It is forbidden during the tournament. Father didn't say we would fight according to these rules. I am sure it will leave them speechless and that Father will let us go to the tournament."

"Fine… I can't do anything against it anyway…"

Outside, on the bleachers, were sitting the highest dignitaries of Asgard like it was an unmissable event. Frigga would have preferred to have this combat private but Odin insisted for people to see that. Firstly, because if a woman showed up at the tournament no one would be surprised and secondly if their son was not part of the tournament everybody would know why. Of course, Frigga would have rather cancelled the duel. She still didn't understand why her husband had to inflict that to his son… He had said that is was for Loki's own good but what good was it to make him give up his friend's dream or to humiliate him in public? She stopped the recriminations in her mind when her husband started to talk:

"Asgardians, I thank you for being here this morning. What you will see today is not a common duel. The Prince Loki will fight a woman. I decided they would do so in order to determine which one of them will go to the tournament tomorrow. I was promised that she was a good fighter. Now, we will see that. Lady Sif and Prince Loki, please, come into the arena!

Under the arena, Thor was encouraging his brother and Sif:

"It's time to go! I wish you good luck. I'll be watching you from over here!"

Thor left. Sif and Loki looked at each other.

"Ready?" asked Loki.

"No", answered Sif and she ran through the door and entered the arena.

Wolfram, Fandral and Hogun were already sat in the bleachers. They were curious to see what Thor called "the duel of the year". When the golden-haired prince arrived next to them, he was overexcited:

"Loki will use Magic! This is going to be spectacular!"

"Are you not overselling the show?" asked Hogun.

"Did you ever enjoy anything?" asked Wolfram.

In the arena, Loki was reaching the centre of the court where was standing Sif and the Commander in Chief of the Army.

"At my command, engage! Understood?"

Sif and Loki nodded and took position on each side of the Commander. Loki was nervous at least as much as Sif.

"Begin!" shouted the Commander.

Loki engaged by giving the first blow. Sif parried with her shield and hit back. Loki avoided the shock and spun, giving a kick in Sif's leg. She was pushed away on two steps and let a groan escape her mouth.

"You thought I would spare you?" asked Loki with a grin.

Sif didn't answer and gave three throws in a row. Two of them hit their target. Loki's tunic was nicked and he was bleeding a bit. She didn't relax in her efforts and finished by a punch in the jaw. Now Loki's mouth was bleeding too.

"Did you think I would?" she asked in return.

Loki and Sif battled during several minutes twirling around each other like in a dance. They didn't hold back. However, there was still no trace of compassion from Odin. Before such passivity, Loki decided to use Magic. He first used fireballs and Sif blocked them with her shield. Though she managed to avoid the fire, she couldn't approach the prince. Loki kept the advantage and took the opportunity to disappear and reappear in her back. In the audience, everyone was shocked before the use of Magic. They were wondering if it was allowed. Frigga looked at her husband. He was going to interrupt the duel but she stopped him by putting her hand on his wrist. Odin who had started to get up looked at her and took his sit back. In the arena, Sif turn back to look at Loki, he was already engaging combat with his daggers. She blocked his first assaults easily and sent him to the ground. Still trying to get up, Loki triggered a little sand storm to blind Sif. She protected her eyes with her arm and tried to lean against the border of the arena to not be surprised in the back like earlier. Loki knew that with his Magic he could win too easily. As Odin didn't stop the duel already, he decided to stop using it for it was of no use apparently. He took some steps forward and engage the combat again. They were both out of breath but they were not too tired to continue. With a parry perfectly executed Sif managed to disarm Loki or at least send one of his daggers out of his reach. With only one, Loki was clearly disadvantaged. He chose to charge and deal a direct blow on her with his shoulder. Sif managed to escape on the side and took Loki from behind. He was now pinned to the wall of the arena, the jaw directly touching the stones. Suddenly the world stopped breathing. Loki and Sif didn't move. The prince was thinking. What did he really want? Letting her win or take part to the tournament and prove he was the equal of his brother? Maybe even better? This very moment, he knew exactly what he wanted.

"I'm sorry", he said and he disappeared from Sif's hold.

But Sif wasn't caught off guard. She had fought against him too many times to fall for that. She turned quickly and found Loki right behind her, ready to give a hit. She pushed him, letting him fall on the ground and put the point of the sword on his throat.

"I win!" she said proudly.

"I know", said Loki.

Everyone was cheering her and making an ovation for her. A guard came next to her and took her hand lifting it up to the sky in a sign of victory. She didn't have time to think about Loki's answer. She was taking away before the King.

"Lady Sif, you have won. You are now a contender of the tournament! Congratulations", said the All-Father.

Sif bowed and Odin left the tribune. From afar, Loki was looking at her. He had a smile on his face. He was proud of her. To avoid the many questions that his friends and his brother would certainly have, he teleported directly in his bedroom and washed. He wanted to put as many distance as he could between him and this difficult morning he just had.

* * *

In the afternoon, Sif finally found Loki seated on a bench in Idunn's garden.

"At last! Were you hiding from me?" asked Sif.

"Maybe…"

"You'd better do. I'm angry!"

"And why is that?" asked Loki with a smile. "I believe you would be happy to participate to the tournament."

"You promised to fight fair and square!"

"I know but I warned you that I will use Magic."

"I'm not talking about that and you know it."

"What are we talking about, then?"

"You let me win", said Sif.

"What makes you think that?"

"You knew I would turn back! It is why you said you knew I would win. And don't disappear now to avoid this conversation!"

"What does it change?" asked Loki.

"You lied."

"Am I not the God of Mischief?"

"Maybe people are calling you that. I didn't. I thought I could trust you…"

"You trusted me and you were right", he said lifting up. "Look at where you are now? You are a member of the Royal Academy of War. You can enter the tournament with the King's consent. Aren't you not happy?"

"I am. But I'm disappointed in you."

"Well, if it is what it takes…"

"Goodbye Loki. Have a nice day."

Clearly, she didn't want to talk with him anymore. Loki let a breath out.

"Goodbye Sif. Rest and sleep well. Tomorrow will be a hard day."

* * *

In the center of the arena, no one could see anything through the dust. The combats had already started. The King was seating in the bleachers, next to him was Algrim, the dark elf in charge of the education of Thor and Loki. The Queen was waiting on the side of the pit. She was there with three of her apprentices. The contenders had been asked not to hold their blows. Frigga was supposed to teleport every participant who was going to be killed before the fatal hit. There were additional healers to heal the wounded. Loki was there too to assist his mother. He didn't know how to teleport someone yet so he had to cast a spell to make a shield appear in case the Queen couldn't teleport the warrior soon enough.

In the arena, there was already Hogun. He, Fandral and Wolfram were going to fight the first day, each in a different group. Loki suspected that his mother was for something in this lucky distribution. He had asked her directly:

"Did you ask to put my friends in different groups?"

"What makes you think that?"

"So, you did!"

"I think they fight all very well and if they can be part of the best warriors of Asgard, why not let them a chance to stay together? And if they fail, they still can participate to the other tournament at the end of the year. Like you."

"Thank you."

"For what?"

"For them."

The Queen had smiled. Even though he had had a bad day the day before, he was still caring for his friends.

Now she was concentrated of the different battles in the arena.

There were two strategies for the four fighters of a group. At the beginning, they could split in two groups of two and fight two one-one combats. Or they could decide to fight three against one from the beginning. This way the first participant would easily be get rid of. Then two could turn against one and finally have a one-one duel.

Currently there were two groups of two. Hogun was fighting a red-bearded man with a sword. In the other side of the arena were fighting the two other contenders. After some minutes of intense combat, Hogun managed to defeat his opponent. As a fare warrior, he waited for the two others to finish to attack the winner. With his strange weapon, he destabilized the other contender. He didn't really know how to parry the blows because it was clearly heavier than his sword. As he fell, Hogun stepped to him and gave a hard blow in his face but his weapon touched only the ground because the Queen had already teleported him on a litter next to her. Loki had cast a silhouette which looked exactly like the warrior at his place so that everybody could see that Hogun had won the tournament. Then he made it disappear. Hogun looked at the crowd in the bleachers who was acclaiming him. He should have shown some signs of happiness but he remained still and looked at the King instead. But Odin didn't speak. The quartermaster who was waiting at his side did the speech:

"Soldier, you passed this test successfully. Thereby, you are selected to be part of the next expedition to the plains of Vanaheim! Be ready to leave in two days!"

Once again, the crowd exulted. Hogun bowed before the King and left the arena to join the backstage. The healers were busy trying to heal the participants. Frigga was giving a hand for she was very good at it.

"You should rest to be ready to teleport the next group", said a healer.

"I'm good, thank you."

"She is the best wizard you will ever know. You should give her more credit", said Loki.

"Except your father", added Frigga.

"He doesn't practice as much as you", answered Loki.

"This is what makes him even better."

Loki didn't retort anything. He had to concentrate for the new group was taking place in the centre of the arena. The quartermaster spoke:

"Remember, you have to fight like you would do against real enemies. Wizards are here to evacuate you before the final blow. Don't use Magic yourself and may the best win this tournament!"

The four warriors saluted the King. Among them, Fandral was preparing. Wolfram had given him a friendly tap on the back before he entered. He was not easily impressed but there was so much at stake and a lot of people who was looking. He felt a chill run down his spine.

"Get ready", cried the quartermaster. "You can begin the fight!"

Fandral had not talk about strategy with the other participants and he was starting to regret it, for the three other guys were getting to him.

"Oh great! Don't do that", he said. "I'm sure we could find an arrangement…"

Then he had to parry the first blow. None of the three men were listening to him. He had to defend himself against the three of them. In order to avoid being attacked from behind he stayed against the limit of the combat zone.

From his place in the bleachers, Thor, who was not fighting this day, was frowning. If he could have helped his friend he would have done it. As for Loki, he hesitated to cast a spell to make one of the contenders fall but his mother was too close to do it without being seen. Wolfram, from the backstage, shouted to him:

"Go on, Fandral. Show them!"

Fandral fought twice as hard to repel his opponents. After some feints, he finally managed to get rid of one. Then he went crashing on the two others, making fall everyone. He rolled on the side and got up before the other. He didn't drop his sword when he fell so he attacked them directly and miraculously won the combat. His friends were relieved. Like the crowd, Wolfram was up clapping his hands. Although he knew it would soon be his turn, he was rather relaxed. Maybe it was pride, but he was sure to succeed.

The quartermaster announced the names of the four next contenders. Wolfram was not part of it. He would have to wait. "Good", he thought, he would have time to congratulate his friend who was back among the participants.

"You did great, Fandral!"

"Luckily, you were here, my friend. When I heard you, I knew I could do it."

"I saw that! Anyway, congratulations! You'll be part of the next expedition to Vanaheim too?

"Yes, that's what the quartermaster said."

"Good. Maybe all the winners will be in the same squad."

"You thought we could be separated?"

"I don't know. We will be eight all in all. I first thought we would be dispatched in the several battalions of Odin's army. Now I'm not so sure."

"So, you think you already are part of the winners, don't you?"

"Of course, I do! You don't?"

"Don't overestimate your talent, that is all", said Fandral.

"So, eight we will be", said Wolfram again. "Hogun, you and me today, Thor and Sif tomorrow. There are only three places left!"

"A shame Loki has been disqualified. I'm not a big fan of him, but he's one of us… I would have liked him to be with us…"

From outside, Wolfram heard that the combat was at end.

"My turn! Wish me luck! " he said to Fandral.

"Good luck, my friend", said Fandral and Wolfram left the backstage to join the centre of the arena with the three other contenders.

Like the other warriors before them, they listened to the directives from the quartermaster and bowed before the King. Then the combat started.

From the first minute, Wolfram had given a blow to each of his enemies. He was so thrilled by the euphoria of the fighting that he was joking during his duels.

"Come closer, so that I could rip your head off."

"Don't be afraid, I will only chop your hands!"

"So, this is what you call "holding a sword"?"

Wolfram was inexhaustible. He was twirling around like a dancer. Each time he gave a sword thrust, he hit his target. It was quite a show! It was like he could win the combat already but he preferred to make it last because he was enjoying it. Fandral was not very sure it was pleasing the King and the quartermaster. So, he shouted to his friend:

"Wolfram, this is not a game. End it!"

The warrior looked at Fandral and scowled. He listened to him though and stopped the torment of the three poor contenders. He raised his arms high in a sign of victory and the crowd stood up and cheered him up.

One last time the quartermaster let the people know that Wolfram would join the battalion to Vanaheim two days later.

Then Odin stood up and knocked Gungnir to the ground. Everybody went silent and he started to speak:

"I call in the center of the arena the warriors Hogun, Fandral, Oran and Wolfram."

The four interested parties took place in front of Odin.

"You are now members of Asgard's army. Soldiers, you will accompany two of my generals in their trip to Vanaheim. May this journey give you the only thing you miss: experience! Now, for those who have forgotten, tomorrow four other combats will take place. The winners will also be part of this battalion. Good luck to them all!"

Odin turned his back to the arena and got back to his palace. When the spectators were all outside the compound of the arena, Loki, Thor and their friends reunited all in the pit.

"Congratulations, my friends", said Thor and he took Fandral and Wolfram by the shoulders. "I wish I will be as good as you tomorrow."

"Thank you, Thor", answered Wolfram. "I know you'll try to be but I'm afraid you will never be this good", he joked.

"Congratulations to the three of you", added Loki. "If any of you need care, the healers are still here."

"Thank you", said Fandral. "I'll go to see one. My arm is killing me!"

"I'm good", said Wolfram. "I could have beaten a dozen more men without a scratch."

"You won't be so proud when you will be on mission", said the quartermaster who had heard him.

"What do you mean?" asked Wolfram.

"You will see soon enough, young soldier", and the quartermaster went away.

"What a moron!" said Wolfram.

"He just wanted you to shut your mouth", said Loki. "If you want to know, I think he's right. You are as proud as a peacock. Get your feet on the ground!"

"Says the man who doesn't participate to the tournament!" retorted Wolfram.

"Because you think I decided to?" asked Loki angrily.

"Yes! You let this girl have your place!"

Loki tightened his jaw and didn't answer. Thor didn't say a word. The situation was tense. Hogun spoke:

"He fought the girl. She won."

"Yes, and now he comes and lecture me because I win! But everybody knows that he would have lose this tournament anyway!"

"Wolfram!" said Thor. "You can't say things like that. Apologize to him!"

"Why? Because it's true?"

Loki left them. It was really too much for him to bear. Fandral got back to his friends at this moment.

"Why does he leave? What happened?" he asked.

"Wolfram said that he would have lose the tournament", said Hogun.

Thor went after his brother.

"Why did you do that?" asked Fandral to Wolfram.

"I don't know... He went on my nerves. He just can't see other people happy when he's not…"

"And you cannot see other people sad when you're not…"

Wolfram let a breath out.

"Fine… I will apologize to him."

"Here's a good lad!" said Fandral.

* * *

In the corridors, Thor was running after his brother.

"Loki, wait!"

"What?" did he ask turning to Thor.

"Forgive Wolfram. He just didn't want you to spoil his happiness."

"I don't care. He says things, hurting things that I will never allow myself to say to anyone."

"It hurts only because you think it's true. But you would have won and you know it."

"Do I?" he said looking into Thor's eyes.

Thor didn't answer immediately. Loki disappeared in his bedroom leaving his brother alone in the corridor.

"I hate when he makes that…"

* * *

The day after, Loki was back in the pit with his mother and the healers. Before the beginning of the combats he went backstage to talk to Sif, hoping she would not be angry anymore.

"Good morning, Sif."

"Loki! I'm happy to see you here! I'm so excited to start and at the same time I'm so stressed!" she said crossing her arms.

"This will begin soon. Don't worry. I came to wish you luck."

"Thank you."

"I believe in you, Sif. You will be great!" he added touching her forearms.

"I'll fight for both of us."

Loki smiled.

"Good luck!"

And he left the lady warrior with the other participants. He wanted to see his brother too. He was angry just after Wolfram, not his brother. He could cheer him up. Thor found him first.

"Brother! You came to see me!"

"Yes, of course I did!"

"Well, I'm ready. Nothing to worry about!"

"Don't lie. You are nervous", said Frigga who just arrived next to her sons.

"Mother! I'm happy to see you too!"

Thor took his mother in his arms.

"I have to go but I'm sure you will be on the list of the winners, Thor."

He gave her a wink. Then the Queen took Loki by the arm.

"Come, Loki. We have to ready ourselves."

Loki followed his mother and they both got to their respective places.

Sif was part of the first group. The men who accompanied her in the centre of the arena were looking at her oddly. They were talking to each other. She heard some of their sentences:

"What is she doing here?"

"She's just a girl."

"She won a fight against the Prince yesterday."

Before she could hear more of it, the King stood up and talked:

"People of Asgard, today four more groups will fight. As you can all see, the first one contains a woman. For those who didn't see the combat two days ago, she replaces the Prince Loki, defeated that day.

Loki looked down. "So much for the discretion…" he thought.

Odin sat down and the quartermaster explained to the contenders the rules of the tournament. Then he gave the signal and the fighters took positions. It was not a real surprise for Sif when she saw the three men coming at her. Loki had expected no more from them but still he had hope he would go wrong. Sif took a deep breath and concentrated. She gave the first blows, one to each man and moved to their backs. One of the fighters seemed less good than the others so she concentrated her efforts on him. Soon she defeated him and she gave the others a big smile as to say "I'm not that bad, don't you think?". Luckily for her, they were not very smart and didn't try to attack her at the same time. Otherwise she would have been sure to fail.

Loki, from a distance, was praying for her. He was confident that she could do it. Otherwise he wouldn't have given his place to her. But she had to be at her best. While he was lost in his thoughts, Sif managed to get rid of the second man. The last one though, looked like a tough piece. Loki was tense and her mother saw it.

"Don't worry, Loki. She's good. She will win."

"How do you know?"

"I know it, that's all."

Loki frowned but the fight had started again, so he concentrated on Sif.

"You're not that bad, little girl, but I will beat you."

Sif didn't like very much to be called "a girl" so she decided to play the same game.

"Then show me what you're made of. Slow-witted."

"We'll see who is slow", said the man giving a hard hit.

Luckily, Sif saw his move soon enough to put her shield before her. The shock reverberated along her arm but she held on. The man was ready for another hit but she threw her shield to his face and quickly gave him a kick in his private parts. The man doubled up and fell to the ground. She led off the last blow and an illusion took the place of the man just before she struck. Loki made the illusion vanished. When he looked at her she was already looking at him with a large smile. The whole crowd was up to applaud her. Odin raised an eyebrow. He had been wrong to doubt his sons. She was really good! The quartermaster made his usual speech and Sif got to Loki's side.

"I'm so happy!" she exclaims.

"I knew you could do it! I'm proud of you, Sif", he added sincere.

"Nothing would have been possible without you, Loki. I owe you."

"You have already rewarded me by winning today, Sif."

She let a breath out, kissed him on the cheek and disappeared in the backstage to rest a bit. Loki's gaze followed her and he smiled touching his cheek.

"Loki?"

The Queen was talking to her son.

"Loki, please concentrate! There are men in the pit again."

The combat between the four contenders of the next group passed quickly in Loki's mind. He was still thinking about Sif. Then came Thor's turn. Before entering the arena, he gave a look to his mother and his brother and nodded. They both gave him an encouraging smile. From where he was standing, Odin looked at his son. Although he would have not admitted it, the King was stressed. Would his beloved son win the tournament? What a shame it would be if he did not…

The quartermaster decided to make a show of this fight.

"Asgardians, you all know him, you like him, please welcome on this session: the Prince Thor himself! He will have no help from his royal family. Like a regular fighter, he will have to fight the other three contenders. May the best win this fight!

Loki raised his eyes to the sky. If anything, this speech would only put more weight on Thor's shoulders…

As for Sif and Fandral, the other three contenders decided to fight together. Maybe they were right, because fighting Thor alone would not have been a piece of cake. The only difficulty Loki saw in Thor's enemies was a man with an axe. The two others were insignificant. As he predicted it, they both fell very quickly. It made it difficult for the other one to succeed in his task. Thor used the feint he was fond of and the man fell for it. It had been the quickest fight of the two days of combat. Odin was relieved, as Frigga was. As Wolfram had made it, Thor raised his arm, sword in hand and looked at the crowd, victorious. Although he should have been happy for his brother, the only feeling that got to Loki was jealousy. Of course, he could have had his own moment of glory if it was not for Sif. It was his choice, but still, he wasn't as pleased as he could have been for his brother.

There was one tournament left. Loki didn't take time to congratulate his brother. He returned to work without a glance to him. When the last tournament finished, seeing a young pretentious man win, Loki went backstage. And for the second time in the same day, he felt jealousy. It was still about Thor, but this time, he was taking Sif in his arms.

Sif saw him, released Thor and called him:

"Loki, come with us! Have you already congratulated your brother?"

"No, I have not", said Loki, reluctant.

He nevertheless joined Sif and Thor.

"Good job, Brother, you've been quick", said Loki.

"Yes! You've seen that too! You know, it's strange when you see three men coming at you…"

"I know, right?" said Sif. "I've thought "OK they are going to cut me in half and eat me!"."

Thor laughed, Loki did not. "Great!" Now they were sharing good memories of a combat he didn't had…

"If you'll excuse me…" said Loki.

Thor cut him off.

"Wait, we planned to meet at the tavern tonight with all our friends, to celebrate, you know…"

"I know. To celebrate your victories."

"Well… Will you come with us?"

Loki was ready to decline. The perspective of spending the night with Wolfram was not appealing. But Sif talked:

"Please, do!"

He looked at her and answered:

"Of course, I'll be there."

* * *

In different places in Asgard, there were parties. The eight winners had invited their friends to taverns, the beer was flowing freely. In one of them were Loki, Thor and their friends. None of them was drunk yet, but Fandral was on the right track.

"Another!" he shouted.

"This one is for Sif, the first woman in Odin's army!" said Thor raising his mug.

Fandral, Wolfram, Hogun and Sif raised theirs too. Loki took more time but raised his mug too.

In fact, they were here since a few hours and had already drink more than a dozen of beer each. Thor even paid for a drink for everybody in the tavern. As for Loki, he still hadn't finished the first one, although he had also paid for a drink to everybody on Thor's demand. In truth, he was not really inclined to celebrate anything. He was starting to regret saying "yes" to Sif. The day after, all his friends would leave to an amazing journey and he would stay here, among his books. To top it all off, Sif was leaving too… He decided to go back to the palace and mourn alone.

"Guys, I'm going. Enjoy your night!"

"Come on, Loki. Stay with us", said Fandral.

Sif looked concerned.

"Don't worry, I'll be fine", added Loki. "I'll see you tomorrow before you leave", he assured.

"Fine", said Thor. "But you'll be well advised not to forget."

"I won't", he said leaving them.

When he was back outside, Loki took the streets to go back to the palace. He turned once on the left, once on the right and made a few steps when he heard footsteps behind him. He turned but saw no one. He took some more steps and heard the sound again. This time when he turned, two men were behind him, when he turned back, two more men were arriving in his direction and from the roofs nearby came three more. He was surrounded and clearly, the men were not friendly. "Why could he not stay in the tavern like everyone else?"

* * *

In the tavern, Hogun was concerned by Loki's departure.

"Maybe I should go with him", said Hogun to everyone's surprise.

"You?" asked Fandral.

"We should never let someone alone in those moments."

"I'll go with you", said Wolfram.

"You?" said Fandral again.

"Yes", he answered. "I'm pretty sure I'm the reason why he left. I have to apologize and Hogun is not the guy who cheer people up very well. No hard feelings, mate", he said to Hogun.

"Fine, you two go", said Thor. "Tell him to come back."

Hogun and Wolfram took all their stuffs and got out. They followed the same streets than Loki.

* * *

The Prince was still surrounded by seven men. The one who seemed to be the leader spoke:

"I heard you at the tavern. You and your friends seems to be rich, paying a drink to everyone! It won't bother you to share that with us."

"In fact, it would" answered Loki.

"I will be clear: give us all you have or you'll die."

"Whoever you are, thief, if I can give you an advice, don't make me angry. I am a Prince of Asgard and I do Magic. You'd better leave me alone."

"Well, look at that! A prince! I didn't know you were that rich! Maybe we could kidnap you and ask a ransom instead."

Hogun and Fandral arrived to the place where he was with the other guys at this moment. They didn't see him very well at first, because the thieves were all around him. But then, they saw two green fireballs thrown on two guys. They fell on the ground, dead.

"Who wants some?" they heard, recognizing Loki's voice.

"You're gonna die!" said the chief.

The thieves came at Loki like one men. Hogun and Wolfram didn't wait a second and came to help their friend.

"Loki, hold on", shouted Wolfram. "We're here!"

They took one man each and engaged the fight with them. Loki killed one of his attackers by putting his daggers right through his heart. He still had two men against him. Hogun managed to disarm his opponent and gave him a hard blow in the head with his weapon. Wolfram demonstrated once again his ability with swords by defeating his enemy very quickly. What he didn't see was the man in his back. The thief stabbed him three times in the back, pushing him on a street on a lower level of the city. Hogun saw his friend falling. He came to take care of the thief who had pushed him. Meanwhile Loki got rid of the last man and came to Wolfram assistance. He and Hogun took down the stairs to rejoin their friend. He was alive but a lot of blood was running out from his wounds. He was breathing heavily.

"I'm fine", he said trying to get up.

But he fell on the ground. He was not able to walk.

"Loki, you can teleport and take him to the palace to see the healers", said Hogun.

"No, I can't. First I don't know how to teleport someone else than me and secondly, I can't teleport in a place that I don't see."

"Well, what do we do, then?"

"I'll go. I can teleport several times, from a place that I see to another. I should be at the palace very soon. Hold on, my friend", he said to Wolfram.

Wolfram didn't have the time to thank him. Loki vanished.

"I don't feel well at all, Hogun", said Wolfram. "I don't know when he'll come back but I fear I won't be there to tell him that…"

"You shouldn't say that. I'm not good at cheering people up. You said it yourself. I'm sorry, I am the only one with you in this moment."

"Don't be."

* * *

Loki had made his first teleportation. He reappeared two streets away. He knew he had to do better if he wanted to get there in time to save his friend. He concentrated again and reached a place he could see a little further. He did that three times again and got to the palace. He was a bit tired of using his magic so many times. He ran to the healer's chamber and asked for help, explaining the situation to them. Unfortunately, they were not able to teleport themselves. Then Loki thought of the only person he knew could teleport and heal someone: his mother!

* * *

In the street where the Prince and his friends had been attacked, Wolfram was getting worse. He coughed and blood got out of his mouth.

"I'm sorry to disappoint you, my friend, but it seems, I… I don't have much time", he said to Hogun. "Tell to Loki that… That I'm sorry. I would have liked to have him beneath us. And tell… Tell to Fandral that he was the brother I never had. Say goodbye to Thor. Will you do that for me?"

Hogun nodded. Wolfram coughed again, making more blood flowing out of his mouth.

"Goodbye Hogun…"

Wolfram coughed a last time, stiffened and closed his eyes to never reopen them.

"Farewell Wolfram, said Hogun."

* * *

Loki was still in the palace. He went to the Queen's chamber and informed her of the emergency. She didn't take time to prepare herself. She only asked to Loki where it was and took him by the arm. Although she was an expert at teleporting she could not take the risk to teleport somewhere she couldn't see. So, she did as Loki did before, from place to place.

When they arrived next to Wolfram, Hogun looked at them and said calmly:

"It is too late. He is gone."

Frigga kneeled and took Wolfram's pulse and confirmed Hogun's saying.

"He asked me to tell you that he is sorry", he said to Loki. "That he would have liked to have you beneath us to Vanaheim."

"I'm too late…" only answered Loki.

He fell on his knees near his friends and his mother. The weight of his failure fell on him like a hammer.

"It is all my fault… If I didn't have left the tavern, he would still be alive."

"Loki… said his mother resting her hand on his knee.

"And still, I had a chance to save him and I failed him only because I couldn't "take the risk"."

"If you had taken it and teleport in a wall or in someone, he'd still be dead and you with him", said Frigga. "These men are the real culprits. They attacked you in the streets!"

"The Queen is right", said Hogun.

"I'll take you all to the palace", said Frigga.

"We should warn the others", said Loki.

"I'll go", said Hogun. "You, go with your mother to take care of Wolfram's body."

Loki was so desperate, he didn't found something to say to contradict his friend. Frigga took his hand and Wolfram's and they vanished in a green halo. Hogun found himself alone with the sadness of losing a good friend for only company…

* * *

 **Explanations for this chapter (not much actually):**

 **\- This is my way of explaining why one of Thor's best friends (that I invented) doesn't appear in the movies. Poor Wolfram... But it had to be.**

 **\- Next chapter: we'll meet someone you know well !**


	6. Chapter 6: The cave

When Hogun went to the tavern to find his friends they were nowhere to be found. Someone told him that the Prince had left with the Lady and that the other guy, Fandral, had done the same with another woman. In fact, Thor had accompanied Sif back to home and was now joining the palace.

He was close to his bedroom when he heard loud noises from Loki's. He came close to the door and heard a cry of rage, followed by the noise of something that had been broken.

"Brother? Is everything alright?"

The noises stopped and Thor heard a voice from inside:

"You can come in, Thor".

Loki didn't bother to hide the look of his bedroom. Everything was upside down. Books were lying on the floor, pages snatched from them. Several mirrors were breezed and a chair had been destroyed. Even his furniture was torn apart. It was like a storm had enter the room and ravaged everything on its way. Not to mention, that Loki's face was a mess. He had cried a lot and his eyes were red-circled. When Thor looked at him, he only saw shame.

"Loki! What happened?" exclaimed Thor.

"Hogun was supposed to tell you. Did he not?"

"No. What is it?"

Loki didn't answer. He just let a heavy breath out.

"If it is about the tournament, you know, you have nothing to be blame for. What you did was good. Sif is very happy now."

"This has nothing to do with the Royal Academy, Thor".

Loki fell in Thor's arms, tears in his eyes.

"I killed him!"

"What? Who? What are you talking about?"

"Wolfram. He's dead."

Thor pushed Loki out of his arms and took him by the shoulders.

"If this is some kind of joke, this is not funny."

"It is not, Brother. He died in Hogun's arms, only few hours ago."

"But how? I can't believe you killed him!"

"I was being attacked, Hogun and he came to my rescue. One of the men stabbed him badly and I was too slow to come back from the palace with a healer. I was too late to save him…"

"But you said, you've killed him."

"Don't you understand? This is all my fault. If I hadn't left the tavern, he would still be alive."

Thor would have liked to take his brother in his arms to comfort him, but he was too shaken himself to do it.

"Where is he?"

"In the healer's room. They are going to prepare him for the ceremony tonight."

"Did you warn Fandral?"

"Hogun should have. But I fear he didn't because he should have warned you too."

"I can't believe it. I need to see him. I need to see Wolfram."

"Thor."

But Thor didn't acknowledge his brother.

"Thor!"

"What?"

"I am sorry."

Thor looked at his brother and came out of the bedroom.

* * *

Not many people were aware of the situation. Frigga had told the All-Father about it and he had decided to dispense Thor and his friends of the departure for the mission in Vanaheim. He had maintained it for the three other winners though. The funeral took place at night. They would be required to go on their mission the day after. Their departure was planned early in the morning, as discreet as possible. When Loki had asked why everything had to be made in secret, Odin had answered that was because he would be part of the mission.

"Me? Why?"

"Your mother asked me to and I accepted. I think you deserve this place among your friends. Your devotion for this young girl is beyond comprehension but it proves that you are worthy of my trust. Although, many people would not be of my opinion and find it unfair for those who have participated to the tournament. Therefore, it has to be done under a very strict secrecy."

Loki was glad to finally be part of the mission, however he was feeling guilty of taking Wolfram's place.

* * *

When they all met in front of the small boat on which Wolfram would join the Valhalla, tears were shed. The ceremony was very private, which was all the more touching. Fandral, the most affected by the loss, did the speech.

"Wolfram, you were a brother to me. Even though you were insolent sometimes, you were the bravest man I've ever met. No one will ever replace you. May you join your ancestors in Valhalla."

Thor and Loki talked to him a last time too.

"I know, you'll be watching us from over there, Wolfram. Be a good lad, don't upset the warriors too much in Valhalla." said Thor with a smile.

"I'm sorry that I failed you, my friend. Rest in peace among the worthy." added Loki.

Hogun pushed the small boat where Wolfram was lying with his sword and Sif let her luminescent orb go and fly to the sky. No one talked much at the ceremony. Everyone was grieving and the time was to the prayers.

* * *

After just some hours of sleep, for some, and insomnia, for others, Loki and his friends got up and prepared themselves for the trip. Thor came to see Loki to his chamber.

"I could not sleep… You?" asked he.

"Neither do I."

"Do you know what our mission will be?"

"Father didn't tell me. I don't even know if we will be only five or if someone will be coming with us."

"I hope so. We're just rookies after all! Come, Brother, they will be waiting."

* * *

In the main courtyard of the palace, Odin and Frigga were saying goodbye to their sons.

"Don't be too bold", said Frigga to them. "If there is any danger that is too much to handle, don't jump against it."

"Well, I'll try to, Mother, and I'll keep an eye on Thor", said Loki kissing his mother on the cheek.

"I will miss you, Mother" said Thor and he took her in his arms.

"Soldiers, this is your commander for this mission!"

Odin was pointing a big man next to him with his forefinger. He was a red-bearded man. He looked friendly despite his giant axe and he saluted the group with a "hi everyone" not very conventional.

"His name is Volstagg." added the King. "He is a trustworthy warrior. You cannot have a better tutor for your first mission. I let you get to know each other and wish you a safe travel."

Odin left the courtyard with Frigga and each member of the group introduced himself to the commander.

"Well, as you are the best from the Academy, I feel like our mission will reveal itself to be easy!"

"And what is it exactly we are going to do?" asked Fandral.

"We're going to Nornheim, paying a visit to a person calling himself: The Dark Man."

"Nornheim! It's very far!" said Thor. "Are going to use the Bifrost?"

"Never heard of the Dark Man." said Fandral.

"Me neither." answered Wolfram. "Besides, no one ever did. That's why we're going to meet him. The All-Father wants to know what are his intentions. And no, we will go on foot."

"One man. It seems easy to handle." said Sif.

"Yes. I told you." answered Volstagg. "But no one knows what we could encounter on the way…"

Sif looked at Loki, anxious. What could possibly be on their way? Trolls? Giants? She wished none of these would show up.

"Everyone on his horse!" said Volstagg. "Now let's being quiet to leave this city."

The group left Asgard through the drawbridge in the direction of the mountains. Volstagg was leading the group. Then came Thor and Fandral. Loki, Sif and Hogun were closing walking. On the way, Fandral was carrying on the conversation.

"I don't know how to go to Nornheim at all. Commander, do you know how?"

"Of course, I do", he answered. "Odin would have been a fool to send me if it was otherwise."

"Well, I guess… Do you know which towns will be our steps?"

"If you think we will travel in towns, you're wrong. We will cross mountains and forests and sleep outside. You won't see a bed 'til we'll come back home."

"Why did we want to win this tournament already?" asked Fandral to his friends.

"For glory and all those things!" reminded Thor to him.

"Oh yes! Finally, I think I would like to stay at home, hidden under a warm duvet."

"Enjoy your travel, young soldier!" said Volstagg. "Maybe we'll be lucky enough to meet trolls, wolves or even bilchsteims!"

"Lucky enough? Did we really enrol for this?" said Fandral a bit alarmed.

"Come on, my friend." said Thor. "Where is your thirst for adventure?"

"I'm still thirsty, don't doubt it. It's just, I'd thought we'd been battling, not hunting."

"If you meet a bilchsteim, I guarantee you it will much more look like a battle than a hunt." said Volstagg.

* * *

When the night came, Volstagg declared that they would put a camp and look for wood to set up a fire.

"Thor and Fandral, go get some branches. Sif, Hogun and Loki, help me building a tent."

After some times, Thor and Fandral came back, their arms full of wood. The others had finished to prepare the camp.

"Here is enough wood to set up a good fire." said Thor.

Volstagg put the branches in order to build a fire. When he finished, Loki threw two fireballs to it.

"Well, I guess this is a way to start a fire." said Volstagg.

"Quick and easy!" said Loki.

"Tell me, Loki, do you have a lot of tricks of this kind?"

"I can cast a lot of spells if it is what you mean."

"Such as?"

"I can teleport or make an object appear in my hand."

"Or make someone say the contrary of what he wants to say" added Sif with a look to Loki.

"Fascinating!" said Volstagg. "Can you freeze someone or push him just with your thoughts?"

"I guess I could, but I never tried. Why do you ask me that? Do you think we could use that against the Dark Man?"

"I don't know. Maybe..."

"He is good at illusions." added Thor. "He can easily make things appear otherwise than they really are."

"Good. But does it not cost you energy or something?"

"Yes, it does…" said Loki with regret. "I'm still learning how to do more. One day I wish that I will be able to use Magic without a cost. I would be invincible!"

Thor stopped him:

"Even Father is not capable of using Magic like that. No one is strong enough."

"I will." assured Loki.

"Well, meantime, if it is not too much to ask, we'd like to eat. I'm famished!" said Volstagg.

* * *

As they would discover it, Volstagg was never satiated. There was no time to lose to reach the Dark Man, but there was all the time in the world when it was a question of eating. More than a necessity, to eat was a sacred ceremony. There was no sleep until a proper food was found and eaten, even when they started to climb the Asgardian Mountains.

"Is that snow that I see on the top?" asked Fandral.

"Yes, it is!" answered Volstagg. "Did you ever leave your palace?"

"Actually, yes. I went to some pubs and taverns!"

"Are we going to climb on the top?" asked Hogun much more serious.

"Not on the top, there is no point on going there, but we'll go through a pass which will take us to the other side of the rock wall. After that, there will be another pass and another rock wall, and so on. It will take approximately three days. It's going to be cold. I hope you've taken some warm clothes."

Fandral gave a look to Thor and then to Sif.

"Lady Sif, if you need some warm comfort, I'd be delighted to get you some."

"I'm fine, thank you. But if I need an oaf, I'll remember you."

Loki couldn't help laughing.

"Obviously, she's not interested in you, Fandral." said Thor.

"I know... In you either, if I can say. The only one she sees is the prince Loki. Don't you, Lady Sif?"

Sif blushed. It was so easy to put her uncomfortable when it was coming to him… Loki took her part.

"Sif chooses the silence which is the best answer one can give to you. Attention is something you don't even deserve."

"Oooh! Silvertongue to the rescue! I bet…"

But Fandral didn't had the time to end his sentence. Loki had cast a spell to give a hit on Fandral's horse's arse. It left at full speed and overtook Volstagg who was leading the group.

Thor, Loki and Sif were laughing out loud. As usual, Hogun didn't let a thing transpire on his face but Loki suspected that he was amused too. Volstagg, as the leader, tried not to laugh too and took a serious tone.

"Loki, don't do that again. The road will start to be narrow and narrow. We need to be cautious."

"Understood." said Loki stopping to laugh.

* * *

Fandral didn't try to raise the subject to avoid further disappointment. Moreover, he was thinking a lot about Wolfram who should have been with them and it made him sad. He was not really in the mood for joking.

The more they were climbing, the colder it was and since they had reached the second pass, it had started to snow. The visibility was zero.

"We should stop and make a camp!" shouted Fandral. "If we continue, we're going to fall!"

"We can't stop now." answered Volstagg. "We need to reach the next corner to protect ourselves from the wind. There are only a few meters to there."

The group continued on its way. Volstagg, Hogun and Thor had reached the corner. Fandral was behind them, Sif was following him and Loki was the last. When Fandral turned the corner, a terrible gust of wind made Sif take a step back. She lost her balance and began to fall. Loki caught her by the wrist but the floor was slippery because of the freeze and the weight of Sif too heavy to stay on the road. They both fell in the nothingness. Fandral saw what happened and warned the others.

"Sif and Loki! They've just fell!"

Thor was already taking the path to the corner to find his brother. Volstagg caught him by the shoulders.

"No! This is too dangerous! We don't see anything out there."

"I can't let my brother die! Let me go!"

"Volstagg is right, my friend." said Fandral. "As hard as this may be for us, we must wait for the snow to stop falling."

Hogun nodded to express his consent.

"No! I have to go!" said Thor and he emerged from the corner to face the wind.

Volstagg followed to stop him from this foolish idea. He wanted to shout at him but one could not hear itself in this storm. He already couldn't distinguish the prince so he decided to go back around the corner of the rockwall.

"I lost the prince." declared he to Fandral and Hogun.

"All the gods in the Nine Realms may help them." said Fandral.

After some time, Thor came back covered by snow.

"I couldn't find them." said he. "I've called them but I fear they couldn't hear me with this wind."

"You've done all you could." said Volstagg. "The night is falling. We should set a camp. We'll see what we can do for them tomorrow."

* * *

After the fall, Sif and Loki had crashed into a crevasse. They had hit the frozen ground and rolled to the bottom of the crack. They were stunned by the shock. When Loki woke up, there was no light anymore for the night had fallen. He cast a spell and made a light ball appear in his hand, to enlightened the surrounding area. This is when he remarked Sif lying on the floor next to him. He touched her shoulder and shook it softly.

"Sif, are you alright? Sif?"

She opened her eyes and saw the prince.

"Where are we?" asked she, touching her head.

"I don't know. We have fallen into some sort of crevasse. I don't even see the sky. Either it is night or we are trapped under ice and snow…"

"Buried alive…" said Sif not enthusiastic.

"Don't say that. We are going to find a way out. Can you walk?"

Sif got back on her feet.

"I'm alright."

"Good! We are going to search for an escape through the ice."

"I hope there is one… And I'm sorry I put us into this..."

"Don't blame yourself. At worst, the others will get to us."

"I doubt that. We couldn't see a meter away up there."

After some research, it appeared that the cave was not very big and there was no issue outside. They had lost all sense of time because of the darkness which was always surrounding them.

"Could you not teleport us out of here?" said Sif.

"I already thought about it, but I still don't know how to teleport someone else. And I can't reasonably let you alone here. Moreover, I can't risk to teleport somewhere I don't see."

Their only hope was that their friends could find their way to them. To help spending the time in warmer conditions, Loki put up a magic fire. It had green flames and it was heating the ambient air as much as it could. They both sited around it. Loki even tried to be funny because he was detecting that Sif was a bit worried about their situation.

"A shame I didn't practice more the apparition of a good mattress! Don't you think?"

But it didn't even make a smile appear on Sif's face. Loki knew it wouldn't work so he tried something else.

"Don't worry, Sif. We will get out of here. I promise you. Besides it is not as cold as I would have thought."

"Are you joking? It's freezing! Soon I will not be able to feel my toes."

"You can come into my arms, if you want to get warmer. I mean… If it doesn't sound too "Fandral's style" for you." said he with a smile.

She smiled back.

"Thank you."

And she came close to him to snuggle into Loki's arms.

"How can you promise me such a thing?"

"What thing?"

"That we will get out of here."

"Because I am sure about it. I can feel it." said he seriously.

"You know, sometimes, I don't understand you. In the most difficult times or decisions, you still believe in a happy ending. What does make you keep hope?"

"This is not a happy ending. This is how we get through during a hard time. And I think nothing is insurmountable. I can't help but think there is always a way to succeed. There must be."

"You are amazing." let Sif get out of her mouth.

"Thank you."

"I never really asked you why you let me win our fight."

"Well… There would still have been time for me to join the elite. And without my magic, I bet that you could have win."

"Yes, but you knew you would not be with your brother and your friends. I guess it was hard to let that go..."

"This is really nothing in comparison with helping the one you care about achieve her dream…"

Sif was pleased and could not help to ask:

"So you care for me?"

Loki was uncomfortable but he knew he had to be clear about it. Maybe there wouldn't be another time... He looked at her and grabbed her hands.

"I really care about you Sif and I would let you win a thousand times, if it would mean you would realize your dream of being a member of Asgard's army."

Sif didn't move, nor speak. She just let herself spring into Loki's gaze. He was so appealing at this moment. The touch of his skin on her hands was making her shiver. She was not worried anymore. In fact, she was happy to be finally alone with him.

He was looking at her like he was looking for something, some approval, she guessed.

"I'm grateful for that Loki. I could never repay you for what you did. But be assured of my attachment to you as well."

Encouraged by her declaration, Loki cupped her chin and approached her mouth.

* * *

Meanwhile, the companions were drawing up plans to rescue Loki and Sif. The snow and the wind had stopped. Volstagg decided that Thor would be leading the expedition to the crevasse to them. The other three were supposed to hold the rope attached to Thor's waist.

"Loki?" shouted he in the cave. "Sif? Loki?"

The young prince stopped his move to be more attentive to the sound he had just heard.

"What is it?" asked Sif worried.

"I've heard my brother's voice. I think they are looking for us."

He pushed her gently on his side and stood up. He didn't see anyone near but he heard Thor's call again.

"Thor? We are here!" answered he.

Loki searched for Sif's hand to help her to get up. Then they went in the direction of the call.

"We are coming, Brother." said Loki.

Thor touched the ground but he didn't see a lot in the bottom of the cave. He distinguished two lights at the end of the tunnel. One of them was moving. In fact, Loki had created a light ball that he was making levitate in his palm. A few more steps and they were in the sight of Thor.

"Are you both alright?" asked Thor.

He would have loved to go take his brother in his arms but he could not go further with the rope attached to his waist. So, he waited for Loki and Sif to arrive closer.

"Yes, we are fine." answered Loki.

"I'm so glad to see you alive, Brother. I thought you dead…"

"I've never been so happy to see you too!" answered Loki to his brother.

"I'm alive too." said Sif to inform the princes of her presence.

"Yes, sorry Sif." said Thor. "I'm relieved you are unharmed too. Now follow me. I will take you with me to the top. Ladies first. Loki, you'll have to wait for me."

"I don't know where I could go anyway." answered the young prince.

Thor helped them to get out of the crevasse and they reunited with their friends once they were back. Even Hogun showed that he was happy to see them again. Fandral blessed the gods of the Nine Realms.

"How was it down there?" asked he. "Not too cold I hope."

"A bit, yes. But we handled it very well." said Loki looking at Sif. "We handled it very well..."

* * *

Explanations for this chapter:

\- What to say about Wolfram? The ceremony was described (a little) to look like Frigga's departure ceremony.

\- The new character of the chapter: please make a triumph to Volstagg! I don't think I need to present him. I'm happy to have, at last, reunited the Warriors Three!

\- A little reference to The Avengers with the bilchsteims (mentionned when Thor is in the helicarrier)! I still don't figure out how they look like but I think it was relevant to put them here!

\- And of course, Loki and Sif's! A bit unfinished as you can see...


	7. Chapter 7: The Dark Man

On the way to the Dark Man's fortress, the companions tried to imagine what would be the challenge of the mission.

"I bet he is a giant and that he is not very friendly. After asking him if he is with or against us, he will try to kill us and we will have to fight him!"

"Thank you for this story, Fandral!" said Volstagg. "And who will win the combat?"

"We will win the combat, of course!"

"No, I imagine him more like a mysterious man." said Loki. "Who else would call himself the Dark Man, anyway?"

"Loki is right." said Thor. "The guy seems a bit strange. And if our father wants to know his intentions, it means necessarily that he has something to hide."

"What? A terrible secret?" asked Volstagg.

"Does he use magic?" asked Hogun who had not spoken until the morning.

The companions looked at each other, then at Volstagg, who surely had the answer.

"I don't know…" said he.

"Maybe we should send Loki first." said Fandral. "He will be able to tell us if the man has powers or not."

Loki was ready to answer but Volstagg spoke first.

"No, no, no!" said he. "We will go together. Remember that it is a test for all of you. Loki doesn't have to face the stranger alone. Moreover, we should start with diplomacy. Nothing tells us that he will be against us."

* * *

In the afternoon, they reached a hill from which they could see the fortress.

"Here it is!" said Volstagg.

"It looks lovely." said Fandral. "Someone who lives in here can't possibly mean any harm."

"Do you see the entrance?" asked Loki. "It is shining! I think there is a golden bridge to cross before entering the fortress!"

"Well, I don't know if he is a dark man, but at least he is a rich man!" said Fandral.

"We should hurry." said Hogun who was always the voice of reason in the group. "It is going to rain heavily."

Indeed, he was right. When they reached the bridge, it was already raining and it seemed the weather was turning into storm.

"Come, we must get to the entrance before the wind blows too hard." said Volstagg. "Otherwise, golden or not, the bridge will be too dangerous to cross."

Volstagg was worried because the bridge was very narrow and without railings. Under such a storm it was unlikely to cross it without any harm.

"Enough fall for me during this travel." said Loki. "We should better hurry."

The group took the bridge and arrived to the huge doors of the fortress.

"Anyone wants to knock?" asked Fandral. "Maybe showing some courtesy will please him and he will be more inclined to listen to us."

"I doubt he could hear a knock on his door with this storm overhead." said Thor. "We should go in."

"I have a bad feeling about this." said Sif taking a look around.

"She's right." said Loki. "This… place. It's surrounded by bad waves. I can feel it. People died here..."

"We are here to accomplish a mission. We can't return home without fulfilling it." said Volstagg.

Thor pulled the giant doors and entered the fortress followed by his friends. Strangely, it was all quiet inside the castle. There were not many lights, so Loki made a light appear in his hand and made it move with them along the corridor in order for the companions to see where they were putting their feet.

"Is there anyone?" asked Volstagg out loud. "We are a delegation sent by the King Odin of Asgard. We would like to talk to the master of this house, the man calling himself the Dark Man."

But no one answered him.

"It's cold." said Hogun.

In fact, it was so cold that they could see their breath.

"We should go on." said Thor. "Maybe there will be someone in the main room."

They were all very scared and intimidated by the creepy appearance of the hallway. Nevertheless, they all got to the throne room, following Thor. They found a strange decoration in it. They were a lot of statues alongside the way to the throne, like a guard of honour made of stone. And it was still very quiet.

"Maybe we should go." said Sif. "It really makes me nervous. Look at their faces." said she showing one of the statues. "It seems so real. They look like real people transformed into stones."

"Don't say things like that!" said Fandral. "It is scaring me to death."

"I often provoke this feeling." said a loud voice in the back of the room.

They all turned in the direction of the voice but saw nothing, because the person was hidden in the shadows. He took a step forward and they discovered a tall blue man. He was only wearing a loincloth which let his musculature visible to all. With his serious face and his arms crossed on his chest, he was very frightening. The man was looking at the Asgardians with such intensity that they all missed a heartbeat. Volstagg was the first to regain his composure.

"I guess you are the so called Dark Man."

"Indeed I am."

"We are here to…"

But the Dark Man didn't let him speak. He answered with a calm tone, which was amplifying the warriors' anxiety.

"I know why you are here. I heard you the first time. What I don't know on the other hand is why you entered my home like it was yours."

He finished his sentence with a smile but his eyes were betraying his real feelings. He was furious.

"I told you, we should have knocked." said Fandral whispering.

"I hope you would forgive our impudence." said Volstagg. "There was a storm outside and…"

"Don't go any further." cut the Dark Man. "I don't care. By entering in without my permission, you have put yourselves in a greater danger. Don't you know what I'm capable of?"

"In fact, no." said Loki. "We have been told that you were a fierce warrior. That you had great capabilities. Odin would like to know more about you."

"You try to soothe me. I could be tempted to reveal you all my powers but it won't work, young man."

Loki didn't like being called 'young man' as it was said to diminish him.

"Perhaps, you don't know who we are neither." said Loki with arrogance, provoking him.

The Dark Man seemed taken aback.

"Explain yourself."

"I am Loki Odinson. Of Asgard. And this is my brother Thor."

"Odin's sons! It looks like I'm a great deal to the King if he sends me his sons!"

"Yes, you are." said Volstagg, trying once more to gain his trust.

But it was all ruined by Thor:

"And if you don't cooperate, I can assure you we will take measures to make sure you will never be a threat to any Asgardian!"

Thor had talked out of rage and had clearly angered the master of the fortress. Volstagg closed his eyes:

"We are doomed…"

"Well, Asgardian, if you seek quarrel with me, you'll find it! I will never bend before anyone. Now, if you don't agree with me, fight me! I will even let you give the first blow."

"Don't do that, Thor!" said his brother.

"This is ridiculous!" said Volstagg. "We are here to speak with you, not to fight you!"

"My home, my rules! You want to get out: your prince fights me or you die. Clear?"

"I don't care about your rules! If I want to fight at his side, who will try to stop me?" asked Loki.

"Me." said a female voice.

Loki and the others turned to see who had spoken to discover a blue woman, draped in a red gown.

"I'm sorry my dear, I forgot all politeness." said the Dark Man. "Everyone, please welcome my wife, Desire."

"I guess your name means something special. What is the purpose of it?" asked Loki. "Are we all going to fall under your spell?"

"I should ask you." said she closing the distance between them. "Are you?" asked she in return, touching his cheek.

Sif looked at her with anger. She was going to take her blade out and hit her, when Volstagg took her wrist.

"Don't." said he in a low voice.

"Or, are you?" asked Desire to Fandral.

Fandral was some meters away from Desire, not insensible to her charms. In fact, it was his biggest weakness: women. He was irresistibly attracted by her.

"Be warned, Asgardians, if someone succumbs to me, my kiss may be fatal. He will be transformed into stone. I'll watch your friend if I were you!"

Suddenly, everything was clear. The statues in the throne room were not only statues, but real men who had fallen for Desire and died of it. They had to do something about Fandral before it was too late. Loki cast a spell to prevent him for getting closer to the woman and Sif took out her sword.

"I've lost enough time with you all." said the Dark Man. "Fight me!" said he to Thor.

The Dark Man had taken a few steps to the companions saying his last words and he looked taller this way. The tone of his voice didn't let much of a choice to Thor, so he took position to fight.

"Thor, Son of Odin, do I have to repeat myself? I let you give the first blow!"

The Asgardian didn't wait much more and charged the Dark Man. He swung his blade and made a move to decapitate his opponent. He didn't think it would work but he wanted him to show his abilities. Against all odds, the Dark Man didn't do anything to prevent the blade to cut his head. It fell to the floor under the frightened look of the others.

"Were we supposed to kill him in case of disagreement?" asked Sif.

Volstagg was going to answer but instead they all heard from the head lying on the floor:

"He didn't kill me. I've just lost my head."

Then the corpse walked to the head and put it on his neck, becoming one again.

"The blow was a worthy one!" added he.

The companions looked at him with terror.

"What is this trick?" asked Volstagg. "Are you able to do that too, Loki?"

"I don't." He added in whispers: "He is dangerous and invincible. We should go while we still can."

"I heard you well, prince Loki. If you think you can still go, you are mistaken. The only way you can get out of here is if your brother beats me."

He fired two blasts of energy in Thor's direction, projecting him out of the throne room and followed him in the corridor.

"Go help him!" said Loki to Hogun and Volstagg. "I'll deal with Desire with Sif."

Hogun and Volstagg get out of the throne room to rescue their prince. Sif, Loki and Fandral were left alone with Desire. Loki was still holding Fandral with his spell. This time, Sif wasn't interrupt by any falling head, so she attacked Desire with her sword. It shocked with Desire's and the two women fought with rage.

"A woman!" said Desire. "Why does Odin send us a woman? I have only seen men before. Everything was perfect. I'd always win!"

"Time to lose then!" answered Sif giving another hit. "Loki get out with Fandral. I will take care of her!"

Loki stopped his spell and headed to Fandral to take him outside. But he didn't want to go. Loki had to pull him with all the forces that he had. Once they get on the corridor, everything got back to normal.

"We should help Sif." said Fandral, ready to come in again.

But Loki stopped him.

"No! You see how you were. If you enter this room, you will be under her spell again. I trust Sif. She will succeed."

"Fine." answered Fandral. "Then we should see how it is going outside."

They headed both to the giant doors and opened them. The sight was not pleasing. Thor was fighting the enraged Dark Man. They had landed on the golden bridge under the heavy rain. The Dark Man was fighting with a large axe and Thor was not up to the challenge. He was good, but not good enough. However, he was not giving up and was fighting as hard as he could. Volstagg and Hogun were lying on the ground after an energy blast that they had received from their enemy. Loki tried to cast a spell too, but worried to touch his brother, he missed the Dark Man. Unfortunately, Thor slipped on the moisty bridge. He was holding on the edge but with the water it would not last long and the Dark Man was upon him before Volstagg could arrive. However, the man could have strike but he did not. Instead he reached Thor's right hand and helped him to raise. Suddenly the storm went away and the rain stopped.

"All your friends here, they are scared." said the Dark Man. "They fight bravely, but they are afraid of me. You, on the contrary, you aren't. I don't feel your fear. I have nothing to feed upon. Either you are very courageous, either you are the silliest man I have ever seen. In both case, I can't say I've defeat you if you don't fear me. This is the reason why I will spare your life and your friends'. Go back to your king, and tell him I will not stand up against him. But let me be clear: I am still free to do whatever I want with the people who dare enter my house!"

In the throne room, Sif had defeated Desire. She was taking her outside to bargain something.

"Everything is fine!" said Volstagg. "You can let her go." said he.

She released her reluctantly.

"A woman warrior!" said the Dark Man to Sif. "It is not common. You have my full admiration, my Lady."

She felt proud but didn't say a word.

"Well, it is time for us to go." said Volstagg. "Soldiers! Forward, march! Farewell to you both." said he to the Dark Man and his wife.

* * *

When they reached the first wood, Sif declared:

"I still don't fully understand why he let us go."

"He discovered that Thor is a silly guy. That is all." answered Loki.

"Mock me, Brother." said Thor. "But without me, you would all be dead."

"Or maybe, we would not have entered the fortress and nothing would have happened!" retorted his brother.

"Boys, don't quarrel." intervened Volstagg. "It is time we call Heimdall to return home!"

"With the Bifrost?" asked Fandral. "But I won't be able to fight anyone or any bilchteim if we don't go by foot!"

But Volstagg didn't listen to him.

"Heimdall!" called he.

A few seconds later, the ray of the rainbow bridge took them back to Asgard, in Heimdall's Observatory.

"Welcome home." said the guardian to the princes and their friends.

Everyone saluted Heimdall and got out of the observatory.

"Now, if you'll excuse me." said Volstagg. "I will make my report to the King. We'll see each other very soon."

"But it's unfair!" said Fandral. "I was under a spell!"

He ran after Volstagg to stand for his cause.

"Poor Fandral…" said Thor. "I don't know what kind of report will make the captain to our father."

"I wonder mostly if we had something particular to achieve during this mission." said Hogun.

"Of course, we did!" said Loki. "We had to fight, prove our courage. But except for Thor and I, I don't think any one …"

"Proved his worth? Is that what you meant?" asked Sif angrily.

Loki looked at her.

"Yes. I mean… No!"

"Well, I DID! I was fighting Desire! But you are so selfish and arrogant and proud of yourself, you didn't even notice. I thought you different..."

Then she walked away.

"Sif, wait!"

He was ready to follow her but Thor talked to him.

"She is right, you know. She has fought more than you today."

Loki was angry. At him firstly because he had upset Sif, at her then because she was too stubborn to wait for his excuse and at Thor to finish because he was taking her side against his. Finally, he did nothing and got back to the palace with Thor and Hogun, not saying a word. Then they all got back to their apartments to rest.

* * *

Thor and Loki had had dinner with their parents. Then Thor had joined Fandral in a tavern to remember their friend Wolfram. Loki was not in the mood. Moreover, he was still feeling guilty about his death and didn't want to spend the night mourning. Instead he had stayed with his mother to tell her about his journey.

"You know, Desire did not tempt me. It seemed not to work on me. But I already have experienced that. At the Golden Apple ball, I was talking to Lorelei and I felt like she was trying to seduce me. Maybe I was mistaken but it didn't work anyway."

"I was there, during the ball. And I did see what happened. She really tried."

"I have already seen her succeed in seducing someone. The man was like 'compelled' to do everything she wanted."

"Well, you didn't wonder why it didn't work on you?"

"No. I guess it is because I do magic. I am like immune to it."

"Or maybe it didn't work because you were already in love with someone. And that love is stronger that their power of attraction."

"Mother…"

"I won't ask you about it, don't worry. You are the best judge of what you should do. Now I will let you think about it. Good night."

The queen left his son and Loki stayed alone, thinking of his mother's declaration.

* * *

The day after, Loki had not decided yet if he should speak or not to Sif. He went to join his brother in the main lunchroom. They were both eating when a messenger came near the table and announced:

"I have a message for the princes of Asgard from the All-Father."

Loki looked at him oddly. Why would their father send a messenger to say something to them? Thor seemed surprised too.

"We are listening." said he.

"The King asked me to inform you that your former teacher and tutor, Master Algrim, left the palace in the night. Although Heimdall and some guards tried to locate him, he was nowhere to be found."

Loki and Thor looked at each other. This was very surprising for both of them. Why would their teacher leave Asgard? Thor had an inquiring look on his face and his brother was thoughtful.

"Well, thank you." said Thor to the messenger. "We should go to Father to see if he knows something else."

They both got up and headed to the throne room.

* * *

They were announced and entered the room. The King was sitting on his throne. When he saw his sons coming, he raised and went down of the pedestal where the throne was standing on.

"My sons, I guess you are here about Algrim."

"Yes, Father." answered Thor. "What happened?"

"I don't know much. No more than I have already told to the messenger."

"What makes you think he left?" asked Loki. "He may have been rather kidnapped."

"You are right, I should not condemn him without any evidence… I just know that his horse is gone."

"Maybe he will come back in a few hours." said Thor, trying to find him an excuse.

"You know, or maybe you don't, that Algrim was not allowed to go out of the boundaries of the city."

"Why not?" asked Loki.

"He is a dark elf. One of the last. His kind was a great threat for us and we 'took' him instead of killing him because of his knowledge. I thought he had a good life here and that he had no intention of revenge. But I fear now that I was wrong…"

"What do you mean, Father?" asked Thor. "A threat? Revenge?"

"Long before the birth of light, there was darkness. And from that darkness, came the Dark Elves. Millennia ago, most ruthless of their kind, Malekith, sought to transform our universe back into one of eternal night. Such evil was possible through the power of the Aether; an ancient force of infinite destruction. The noble armies of Asgard, led by my father King Bor, waged a mighty war against these creatures. As the nine worlds converged above him, Malekith could at last unleash the Aether. But Asgard ripped the weapon from his grasp. Without it, the Dark Elves fell. With the battle, all but lost, Malekith sacrificed his own people, in a desperate attempt to lay waste to Asgard's Army. Malekith was vanquished and the Aether was no more. Or so we were led to believe… The power of the Aether was too great to destroy. So, my father asked to bury it deep, somewhere no one will ever find it."

"What does this have to do with Algrim?" asked Thor.

"He survived while many others died this day." answered the King.

"You kept him prisoner?" asked Loki.

"No, we offered him a life among us."

Loki looked at his brother to see if he was astonished by the news too. He didn't say more but he was thinking a lot. He clearly disapproved of his father.

"My sons, I know you liked him very much and I hope this news does not affect you too much."

"If you have more information about him, please tell us." said Thor. "And if you need, we can search for him."

"Thank you, Son." said the King putting his hand on Thor's shoulder.

The princes left the room together and began to talked in the hallways.

"I can't believe it!" said Loki. "All this time, Algrim was a prisoner!"

"Don't say that. He had a great life here. I do not feel that he was lacking in anything."

"Still, I think this was not what he would have wanted. I would not be surprised if he wants to destroy every Asgardian now. And Father above all."

"I hope he got away for good and that we will never hear of him again." said Thor. "Seeing him again would surely mean no good..."

Loki didn't agree with his brother on the fact that Algrim should have felt good somewhere which was not his home. But he was happy that he was now away for he would have not been at peace knowing what he knew about Algrim now.

* * *

In the afternoon, Loki chose to go to the library. Sif, who was sure to find him in it, met him there. He was reading a book in a corner steering clear of the rest of the people.

"Back to your magic books?" asked she.

"Sif!"

Loki was surprised. He didn't think she would come to him after what he had said.

"Yes. I missed it very much!" answered he.

"I won't disturb you any further then."

"No, no, stay. I am finished with it. And I need to talk to you. In fact, would you like to take a walk?"

"With pleasure!".

Loki got up and put back his books in place in the shelf as quickly as he could. He was very excited to be alone with Sif and explain himself. Driven by his enthusiasm, he took Sif by the hand to take her to the gardens, but before starting to run with her, he figured out that this was not proper to appear hand in hand in front of everyone and he released her.

"Come with me." said he instead.

* * *

They finally got to the gardens and walked in the alleys.

"Is it not strange to come back here, in a calm and lovely garden, after being almost killed by a giant blue man?" asked Sif.

"Yes. And almost left for dead in a crevasse!" added Loki.

"Yes. The sunbeams are so warm here, it is difficult to imagine that we were freezing in there!".

Loki remembered his magical fire and didn't say a word. He had a smile thinking at the time they had spent together.

"We didn't speak about what hap… could have happened in the cave." said Sif.

She was talking about the kiss that could have occur when Thor had called them in the crevasse. He stopped walking, so Sif stopped too, puzzled.

"What is it?" asked she.

He took her by the hand and looked at her deeply:

"Sif, I'm sorry about what I said."

"No, I am sorry." said she.

Then he put a hand in the back of her head and he let the other caress her cheek.

"I need you in my life." said he in the most serious tone.

Then he kissed her passionately. Sif's heart was flickering. She kissed him back, deepening the kiss. When they released each other, they both smiled. At this time, nothing could have hit them. They were simply happy. Happy to be at last together.

Loki had wanted this relationship since he had first met her and he would not admit it, but he didn't think it possible at first. Beautiful women like her were not for him, he had thought. His brother was the one getting them. He had felt since the beginning a connection between them. He knew Sif would have a big impact on his life and their bond was one of the most valuable that he had.

As for Sif, her liking of Loki had grown more and more since she had met him. From mysterious he had passed intriguing. Then he had been the best friend she had ever had. And she had loved everything she had seen of him. He was good, she was sure of it.

They spent the end of the afternoon hand in hand in the Royal Gardens, kissing from time to time, embracing each other. They would have liked their relationship to be discrete but at the end of the day, everyone in the palace knew that the prince had a girlfriend.

* * *

 **Explanations for this chapter:**

 **\- The Dark Man is a character from Marvel Comic Books. His wife, Desire, too. The story is not exactly the same but I wanted Loki and Sif to be part of the fight. The golden bridge, the falling head, Desire's power to transform men into stones, abilities to set up storms, everything of that is from the comic.**

 **\- The reference to the teacher Algrim will only ring a bell to those who have read my previous fanfic "The beginning". I "had to" talk about his leaving because it would have been weird for him to come back later (in Thor: TDW) if he was still in the palace. To be continued then...**

 **\- Odin's speech about the Dark Elves comes from the beginning of the movie "Thor: The Dark World". I thought it relevant to be here.**

 **\- Obviously, Algrim's story is close to Loki's one. I wanted him to be outraged about it. This is why I used the term "prisoner" which seems harsh (Thor thinks it is) but which reveals a lot about Loki's mind on the subject. I could have used "stolen relic" but it would have been too much. ;-)**

 **\- And of course, Sif and Loki love story! The beginning of an extremely complex relationship.**

 **\- In the next chapter: adolescence (and magic) at his best!**


	8. Chapter 8: Odin's sons

In the palace, everyone was running everywhere. They were those who had actually something to do and the others who just wanted to look busy. Anyway, there was excitement in the air and there was a good reason for it. The Queen was going to give birth to his new child.

In the royal apartments, the king was waiting patiently for the handmaid to call him. As for the princes, they were talking together in Thor's bedroom, a bit worried.

"So, it's a boy." said Thor who was pacing up and down since at least fifteen minutes.

"Yes. Mother is sure about it." answered Loki. "Would you like to sit down?"

Thor didn't answer to his brother.

"And do you know how they plan to name him?"

"Not a single idea." answered Loki. "Mother did not tell me."

"Do you think he will be as deceitful as you?" asked Thor with a smile.

"I don't know." answered Loki amused. "Do you think he will be as stubborn as you?"

"I hope, for his sake, that he will have none of that." said Thor wisely.

"We should go and see Father." said Loki. "I guess he will be warned first."

"Good idea." said Thor.

The two brothers started to walk to the Queen bedroom.

"You know, when you were born, Father and I were waiting together. And when they called us, I ran in the bedroom."

"To see me?" asked Loki.

"Of course! I was a bit worried about Mother too. I didn't know if it hurt or something. But I was very curious about you."

Loki smiled. It was good to see that his brother was caring about him.

"If you want my opinion, you look rather anxious than curious." said he instead of expressing his feeling.

When they finally arrived in the corridor where the All-Father was supposed to wait for the handmaid, they saw no one.

"Did we go wrong in the corridor? Is this the good one?" asked Loki.

"Yes, it is. I guess we missed the call..."

The princes ran in the hallway to the door were their family should be. Thor knocked.

"It's us."

From inside came the voice of the queen.

"Come in, my sons."

Thor and Loki opened the door and entered the room. The queen was holding a little baby in his arms. The King was standing beside her. It was obvious that they already loved him very much. Loki was jealous. He had to fight everyday since his childhood to earn this love from his father. And just by appearing, this little one had it already. It seemed so unfair. As for his mother's love, it was even worse. He had always considered himself as the favourite brother for her. Now he doubted that it would last giving the fact that she would be with the baby all day.

"Please, welcome your new brother, Balder." said she.

The princes looked at their brother, curious, even Loki wanted to know how looked like the one responsible of his future misfortune.

"He is sleeping." said Thor disappointed.

His mother smiled.

"You said exactly the same thing when you looked at Loki for the first time. Don't worry, he won't always be like that."

"He will be awaken soon enough." said Loki. "Before long he will be pulling your hair and stick his tongue out at you!"

The queen smiled.

"Would you like to hold him?" asked she to his sons.

"No, no." answered they.

"Fine. If you'll excuse me, I need to rest now."

"Of course." said Loki who was relieved to retire.

He got out of the room with his brother and his father. He was ready to go back to his apartments but his father stopped them.

"My sons, I have a mission for you." declared he. "Just the two of you."

The All-Father had piqued the curiosity of his sons.

"I would like you to go to Vidar and tell him that Balder is born."

Loki and Thor looked at each other.

"Why us?" asked Thor.

"Because I wish you to meet him. I don't expect you to go just now. Your mother and I will need you in this particular time. But I would like you to go before the end of the month."

"How will we recognize him?" asked Loki.

"He leaves alone. Heimdall will send you to the right place."

Then the All-Father left without any further explanation. Loki let a breath out.

"And I thought having a brother was enough… Three, it is way too much…" said he.

* * *

After Balder's birth, Odin had counted on his elder sons to take part of the kingdom business. In fact, they were in charge of receiving the presents of the different dignitaries who wanted to congratulate the All-Father. Most of the time, they had to give banquet for the ambassadors. Thor was pleased with this situation but Loki was fed up with it. He was taking refuge in his chamber while Thor was having fun with the strangers. Moreover, Loki was happy to be alone to practice magic. His mother was busy with the baby, so he could not benefit from her teaching.

However, despite his mother's absence, he had become really good in teleportation. He was now working on metamorphosis. First, he had tried to change a part of his clothes, which was quite easy. He had made an illusion appear instead of his real clothes. But he had soon learned that it was not enough. It had taken him more time to manage a true transformation. After succeeding in changing his clothes, he had tried to model his face differently. He was good at it but he was failing in keeping the spell visible. After only few minutes, he was already taking his normal state back.

On this particular day, he was trying once more to change his appearance. The difficulty was in the details. If he wanted his disguise to be perfect, he had to look like a real person and not just an illusion. It took him a while but at the end of the day, he was able to look like another and keep his form long enough to be a useful ability.

Of course, his first attempt to test it was on his brother. He thought of transforming into Wolfram, but, beyond enjoying his brother's face during a limited time, it would be a bad joke. Then, he wondered whose appearance was funnier to play a trick to Thor. And he found out that being the Dark Man could be enjoyable. It would be a good challenge for him for he had to look taller than he was and his skin should stay blue. He had to be discrete and only be seen by Thor to avoid any problem. He decided to teleport in his bedroom. In order to do that, he had to see the room and be sure that the place where he would appear would be free. After taking care of that, he waited for Thor to arrive in his room.

After a while, Thor came back and Loki was able to execute his plan. He transformed and teleported in front of Thor and started to talk:

"You thought you could escape from me?"

Thor looked astonished.

"What… What are you doing here?"

"I've come for you, of course." answered his brother.

"But you said you would leave us alone."

"Well, I was lying, obviously!"

"I warn you, if you take on me, my father will…"

"So, you can't defend yourself without Daddy?" mocked Loki.

Thor was angry and was going to attack the fake Dark Man. But before he threw his fist into Loki's face, the trickster came back to his previous self which stopped him from being hit by his brother.

"Loki?" asked Thor.

"Yes. It's me! What do you think of my new ability?"

"What an idiot! Are you completely out of your mind?" asked Thor. "I could have killed you."

"I don't think so." said Loki proudly. "I would have bested you."

Thor looked at him disapprovingly.

"So, what do you think?" asked Loki again.

"Well, it kills me to say it, but it was brilliant!"

"Thank you! Look at that now."

Loki transformed himself into his brother.

"I can't believe it!" said Thor.

The prince inspected his brother to find an imperfection but the resemblance was perfect.

"Is there actually something you can't do, Brother?" asked Thor.

"A lot, to my displeasure…" answered he. "I can't survive from a decapitation, for example, or teleport someone with me."

"Well, transform into someone is really great. I guess it could be a big advantage for us in particular occasions."

The two brothers spent the afternoon trying different forms for Loki. He took their father's appearance and even animals'. After executing the change a dozen times, Loki was tired though. He agreed with his brother to continue the day after to see the limit of the trick and he slept the whole night to recover. Thor even forgot to talk with him about Sif. As Loki could have predicted it, the day after, Thor was already busy with something else to spend time with Loki, so he practiced alone, once more...

* * *

After some weeks, Loki and Sif were the happiest couple in all of the Nine Realms. They were frequently together in the gardens, not hiding at all from the people at the court. The prince had talked to Sif about his mission in the mountains of Asgard to see his brother Vidar. At first, Sif had been very surprised. Who wouldn't be, learning that Thor, Loki and Balder had another brother? Then she asked about how long would last the mission. He had answered that it would not last long for they would be carried by the Bifrost bridge to his brother's home and even if they didn't know which kind of welcoming they would receive, he thought they would be back in the afternoon.

They were talking together when a messenger came to them.

"I have a message for the prince Loki and the Lady Sif."

"Speak." said Loki.

"The King and the commander of the Royal Army are waiting for you in the throne room."

Sif and Loki looked at each other.

"You will find your brother there, with the warriors Fandral and Hogun."

Loki guessed that it had something to do with their mission in Nornheim.

"We follow you, then." said he.

* * *

When they arrived in the throne room, the others were already there. The King was not sitting on his throne, he was simply standing beside Volstagg. The King started to talk:

"Well. I was very busy this few weeks and I didn't take the time to congratulate you for your mission to the Dark Man's fortress. So, I address you my most cheerful congratulations for it. The commander told me what happened. We can't pretend that you defeat the Dark Man but neither did you lose. I would like to thank particularly Thor, who did fight like a true warrior against the Dark Man, in the fortress and on the bridge. You showed your bravery, my Son, I am proud of you."

Loki was furious that his brother was praised so much. He was convinced that he deserved the same honours that Thor was receiving. And this time he thought to Sif as well. She was standing next to him and he could see that she was not pleased either. Of course, she was too well educated to let herself interrupt the king.

"You will soon be assigned to another mission. Together or not. That's all. Thank you for your time."

As soon as they were dismissed, Loki shared his feeling about his father's speech.

"As usual, please, praise the mighty Thor and his golden hair!" mocked he, making his friends laugh.

"Loki…" said Thor. "You were all there, you know I didn't do everything alone."

"So, why did you not tell Father so?" asked Loki more serious.

The others stopped laughing and listened to Thor's answer. He looked at them all.

"So, you all think I should have said something?"

"Of course!" answered Fandral. "Who knows what Volstagg has told him? Maybe he didn't talk about us at all."

"Of course, he did!" answered Thor. "You heard him, he congratulated all of us. You really think that I'm my father's favourite one?"

The silence of his friends was eloquent.

"Fine… I'll talk to him."

"Too late..." said Loki taking his brother's shoulder. "It is always like that with you. You think you deserve all the honours and you are never surprised when you are the only one receiving them. Grow up, Thor! You are acting like a capricious child!"

Loki left and Sif caught him up. They joined the palace together. The others split up. Thor felt guilty, but didn't care very much. He guessed that all of that would be forgotten the day after.

* * *

After some time, Sif had grown worried about Vidar's mission and been separated from Loki, even if only for one day, made her anxious. It was not in her nature but she could not help it. She was hate herself for feeling so attached to the prince. However, the day before his departure, they meet again and Sif had something special to say to him. They were lying down under their favourite tree in Frigga's gardens. Sif was stretched out on Loki's chest.

"I have something to show you." said she, raising up on her elbows. "But you have to promise me, you won't mock me."

"Hum… It seems pretty serious. I promise you." said he looking her in the eyes.

As Sif found out no lie in his gaze, she decided to talk.

"I found a poem and I thought it was appropriate for the situation."

"The situation?"

"You'll be going, we don't know where, with giants!"

"Well, fine. Then a poem... I'm impressed! You can actually go to libraries." said he, mocking.

"Loki!"

"Sorry, I'm listening." said he, sitting now to listen carefully

"It is for you to know that I will always be with you. No matter what. So, when you remember it, you will think of us."

"I won't need it to think of us. But go on." said he in a smile.

Encouraged, Sif started to read the poem.

" _As the sun rose, I wondered why I didn't feel alone._

 _Only my heart had the answer._

" _As long as you love and you are loved,_

 _You will never be alone." was it telling._

 _And in truth, I felt like you were here_

 _Forever, at my side._ "

Loki was looking at her intensely. And he felt like he never did before. He figured out that apart for his family, there was effectively someone else really caring for him. He felt loved and it was good.

"I love you, Sif." said he for the first time and he kissed her.

"I love you too." said Sif in return.

Loki smiled even happier than before.

"Don't worry, I will not feel alone. However, I am practically sure that I will miss you." added he, smiling.

"Practically?" said Sif reproachfully and then she hit him gently.

"Of course, I will miss you." corrected Loki.

They spent the rest of the afternoon under the tree, enjoying the few hours together they had left before the mission.

* * *

In the morning, Thor and Loki were readying themselves in their apartments. Loki had put his green cape and his golden armour in case of a fight, better be ready in case of disagreement. Thor had done the same with his red cape and silver armour.

They both headed toward Heimdall's observatory on their horses. The guardian of the bridge was already waiting for them.

"So, heading to the mountains, are we?" asked he to the princes.

"Yes." answered simply Thor who didn't know if Heimdall was fully aware of their mission.

"And, Prince Loki, I know about you and my sister." said Heimdall. "I warn you, do her no harm or, son of Odin or not, you will regret it."

Thor smiled discreetly. Loki was not amused.

"Ready, my princes?" asked Heimdall, back to his normal deference.

They both nodded and Heimdall activated the Bifrost.

"Remember, when you want to come back, just call me."

It was the first time that Thor and Loki were using the Bifrost. They were a bit nervous, but the curiosity took the best of them and they walked to the place that Heimdall was showing to them. Then they were taken away by the tunnel. Through it, they saw stars and a multitude of colours. It was really stunning!

When they finally got back to dry land, it was on the slope of a hill. There was grass and rocks everywhere. The view on the valley was beautiful. It looked like a nice place to live in. The only visible house was a shack surrounded by fields. Thor and Loki assumed it was their brother's house. It looked big for a normal Asgardian but for a giant they thought it was not very large. Loki took the initiative to knock on the door. They waited for an answer, looking at each other anxiously. They heard something from the inside, like someone was walking. Then the door opened and they saw him. Their father had not lie about his nature. He was truly a giant. Loki was looking for some resemblance between him and his family, but he was interrupted in his inspection by the giant.

"What do you want, Asgardians?" asked he.

Thor looked at Loki and spoke first.

"We are looking for Vidar."

The giant didn't answer, so Thor decided to be direct.

"We are looking for our brother."

Vidar squint and figured out that they were the princes Thor and Loki.

"Odinson's are you?" asked he.

"I am Thor. And this is my brother Loki." answered Thor.

Vidar took a moment to think and said:

"You are not welcomed here. What do you want with me?"

"Our father just wanted us to inform you that you have a new brother." said Thor. "That WE have a new brother."

"This is true then." said the giant.

"You knew?" asked Loki.

"The wind holds the news and it blows strongly here, you know." answered Vidar mysteriously.

Thor and Loki were not convinced but they didn't try to learn more about it.

"His name is Balder." said Thor.

"Whatever his name is, he won't be more welcomed here than you are."

Thor couldn't help it.

"Pardon me, Vidar, but why this animosity against us? You don't know us."

"And I don't want to." answered Vidar. "You come here, dressed with your most beautiful garments and your shiny armours. I hate you. You represent everything that I don't have. That I will never have."

"So, it is jealousy." said Thor.

"What did you expect?" said Vidar angrily. "I am a prince! I have every right to be jealous! You think that, because I'm not like you, I don't deserve to be your equal? I should be king after my father. It is my birth right as the first born!"

Thor's biggest fear had risen up. He wanted to be his father's successor and he was scared that Vidar wanted to claim it too.

"We are not here to speak about who should reign or not." said Loki seeing that Thor was not responding to the attack. "Father decided for you and will decide for us. We have no power over it."

It seemed to calm the giant. Vidar looked like a brute but he was smart. He knew that Loki was right.

"Well, tell Father that I don't want anything to do with him. He can have a hundred sons if he feels like it. I don't care. You are no more my brothers than the giants of these mountains."

Loki felt like he had lost. But he didn't want to concede defeat.

"You can hate our father for the decisions he has taken. But Thor and I, we are for nothing in your fate. You can count on us if you need someone. You may not feel like our brother, but we consider you as such."

Despite the hard feelings against his father, and his brother Thor sometimes, Loki wanted them to be a family above all. It only seemed only fair that Vidar could be part of it too.

"I thank you, Loki Odinson. I may have misjudged you."

After defeated, Loki was now feeling proud. He had managed to change his brother's attitude.

"Would you like to take a seat and eat with me?" asked the giant.

Loki and Thor agreed and they spent the day talking about life in the mountains. They discovered that Vidar had a wife and met her later in the day. Loki was very curious about his brother's life, on the contrary, Thor didn't ask any question, apart from where he could find ale. If it wasn't for Loki, he would have left just after the message was delivered, but it seemed that Loki was fond of his new brother.

Strangely, Loki was not jealous of this brother. The other two, it was another story… Maybe it was because this one was the most rejected of the four brothers and that he didn't feel any danger coming from him. He didn't know exactly why, but he felt like he could trust Vidar. In some ways, he could identify himself to Vidar. Something Thor would never understand…

After promising to see each other soon, thing that they all knew they would not do, they separated. Thor was happy and called the guardian of the Bifrost immediately. A ray of light appeared and both disappeared, letting a strange form in the grass.

* * *

When they arrived in the observatory, Heimdall asked them how was the journey. They didn't really answer to not reveal their brother existence, but knowing Heimdall's abilities, they were practically sure that he already knew.

It was almost night when they reached the palace. On the way, Thor had talked about Loki's great ability of speaking.

"I thought that we would come back home with nothing good to announce to Father and then you spoke one sentence and he invited us in. You really deserve your nickname "Silvertongue"!"

"Of course, I do! You doubted it?" asked Loki smiling.

"That makes me think about another subject: Lady Sif!"

Loki knew that his brother would bring up the subject one day or another. So, he was prepared to answer anything.

"What would you like to know?" asked he.

"You've never talked to me about her before, except when you asked me to help you to get her into the academy. And even there, you didn't say anything about your feelings about her."

"You should have guessed… I'm not used to help people."

"True, but from all the girls in Asgard, why her? She is the most masculine one."

"I don't think so. She likes to fight and she is not always wearing gowns but she is a true woman." affirmed he, self-assured.

"You admire her, don't you?"

"Don't you?" asked Loki in return.

Thor didn't answer so Loki continued.

"I do. Since the beginning. I think it is the reason I helped her in the first place, actually."

"Well, people are talking a lot." said Thor.

"And what do they say?"

"That Sif will become a princess."

Thor had thought that his brother would deny something like that, but on the contrary, Loki approved.

"And what's wrong with it?" said he innocently.

"Really? You wish to marry her?" asked Thor with surprise.

"You are really naive, Brother… Of course not! We are not thinking about that right now."

"Maybe she is…"

"What do you mean?" asked Loki.

"People say that she had befriended you to marry you and gain power."

Loki laughed so loud that people on their way turned to look at them.

"What is it?" asked Thor.

"You really don't know her, Brother."

"Enlighten me then!"

"She doesn't care. She is a true person. You should get to know her."

When they arrived to the throne room to report to their father, he was not there. So they headed both to their respective bedroom and slept to the next morning. However, Thor's speech had affected Loki. He had planted the seeds of doubt in his brother's mind. Loki had dreamt about Sif taking the throne and killing his mother. Luckily, when he opened his eyes, everything was back to normal. He decided to go see his girlfriend, because, even though he thought her innocent of Thor's accusations, he had to check if he was true.

* * *

" _Back in the afternoon_. I could not say why I thought you punctual!"

Sif was crossing her arms on her chest. Loki had found her in the arena, training. She looked not pleased at all.

"Sif!" said Loki. "I'm sorr…"

"Don't apologize." said Sif changing her angry face into a smile and kissing him. "I'm not one those girls blaming their boyfriend for any reason. I guess you had a lot to do with your brothers."

Loki smiled and kissed her back. He knew he was right. He didn't even have to ask. Thor and the others could go to hell!

"I'm not angry, but I did wait for you." added Sif. "What happened? Tell me!"

Loki and Sif went under their favourite tree and Loki told her about Vidar and the welcoming they had first. Then he spoke about what he had said about their father and the afternoon they had spent in the mountains with the giant.

"They are lucky to have you." said Sif.

"Who?"

"Your family."

"They hide it well then!" laughed Loki.

"I'm not joking. I'm sure this is what they feel. Maybe they take for granted your love, your attachment, your devotion and your loyalty, but I am sure they feel it."

"I am lucky to have YOU." said he kissing her forehead, like he was not believing her. "And don't be so naive, I am not as good as you wish me to be. I am not easy to live with. Ask my brother."

"And what would he say, if I did?"

"That I am the worst brother he ever had. Now that he has got two others, he must be happy."

"I am sure he would not say that."

"You like him." said Loki.

"Who?"

"My brother."

"Thor? Yes. Why do you ask?"

"You don't think ill of him. It is all to your credit."

"Why? Did he say something about me?"

"Nothing important, he was only telling me on what people say."

"About me?"

"This is not important. I should have not talk about Thor."

"Loki, please! What is it?"

Obviously, Sif wanted to know. There was no escaping now. Loki took a deep breath.

"Some people think that you are after the crown."

Sif looked annoyed.

"Do you believe them?" asked she.

It sounded like an accusation.

"No! Of course not!" answered he.

Sif was looking at him closely.

"How can I be sure, that you are not lying to me?"

"I thought you trusted me…" answered Loki. "There can be nothing between us if there is no trust, Sif."

Loki stood up and left, leaving Sif alone under the tree.

* * *

 **Explanations for this chapter:**

 **\- Here is the new brother: Balder! See how Loki feels that something will go wrong between the two of them! If only he knew... But this is another story.**

 **\- The other brother of the chapter is Vidar, the giant. He effectively live in the mountains, far from the Asgardians in Marvel Universe. He also exists in the Norse Mythology. I wanted Loki to feel sorry for him because the rejection from his father is something he fully understand, on the contrary of Thor.**

 **\- Loki is now able to transform into anybody! (His father, for example...)**

 **\- And jealousy, love, jealousy... Teenage years at their best!**


	9. Chapter 9: Jealousy

**Warning: The fanfic is rated M for this chapter !**

* * *

"I choose to believe you."

It was what she had said just after he had opened the door. After their dispute, Sif had think a lot about her couple. She had made her mind about it and she had reached Loki's bedroom, where she had guessed he was taking refuge.

"Your opinion, this is all that matters to me." added she.

"I'm happy to hear it!" said Loki satisfied and relieved.

He invited her in his bedroom. It was the first time that she was seeing it. They usually met in the gardens, but never in the prince's apartment. He felt the danger of such a visit just after he had closed the door. As he realized it, he looked into Sif's eyes and saw exactly the same sparkling gaze. Could it be the right moment?

"What a bedroom you have!" said she not really knowing what she was saying.

Right after, she was cursing herself for such an idiot remark. She walked to the main window. The view on the kingdom was magnificent. All seemed quiet.

"What a view!" said Sif. "The life in Asgard seems so calm and peaceful from here."

Loki came close to her and stopped in her back, resting his chin on her shoulder. He kissed her neck and caressed her arm.

"Yes." said he in her ear. "I come here when I'm angry. It calms me down."

Sif shivered at his touch. She turned to Loki and looked him in the eye. Then, she cupped his chin, put her other hand on his cheek and kissed him passionately. Loki put his left hand in her back while the right one was resting on her neck. They embraced and their bodies closed as much as they could. As they released each other, Sif grabbed Loki's leather jacket and removed one of his shoulder from it, then the other one. It looked clear to Loki, that Sif had one and only intention. It comforted him to go further.

When they had been released from all their clothes, they laid on Loki's bed and took refuge under the blanket. They embraced again and soon their cuddles became more than just few kisses. They were both a bit anxious about the course of the events. Firstly, it was their first time and secondly, they were both hoping they would be up to what the other was expecting. But they didn't let anything stop them.

As they loved each other so much, their embraces were passionate. From time to time, it looked like a fight between them, like each of them was willing to have the best on the other one. As Sif was on Loki, her hair fell on him. He took it and put them back in Sif's back as he was capturing her mouth with his. Their fingers intertwined and their breaths became erratic. They turned and turned again, taking the upper hand one after the other until they reached the point of pure excitement. Beautifully, they came together and in an instant, they passed to unspeakable bliss. Sif was crying. Loki murmured to her ear:

"I love you, Sif. Never doubt it."

She smiled.

"I love you too." answered she and their eyes were telling the same.

Few moments later, as Sif had fell asleep, Loki got out of bed. He put some clothes and stood in front of the larger window of his bedroom. He was thinking how much he loved Sif and how lucky he was to have her. Only she was able to make him happy.

* * *

In another wing of the palace, they didn't know that someone was conceiving an evil plan. Since the ceremony of the Golden Apples, Lorelei had been very angry. She had had the time to plot her revenge on Loki. And she chose this exact day to act. As everyone in court, she had heard of Loki and Sif's relationship. She had a so oversized ego that she had not understood how the prince could have preferred the lady warrior over her. And above all, why her spell had not worked on him. She had learnt that common tricks would not work on him. As her sister was not there anymore to help her with magic, she was reduced to find something by herself. Unluckily for her, she was not as talented as Amora. However, she found something interesting in a book at the library. It was a love potion. It was supposed to make a man fall in love with the first person he would see after drinking. Lorelei had first tried the potion on an innocent man at the court. He had fallen under her charms the second he had drunk the potion. Sure of her success, she had decided to invite Loki to drink a glass of friendship.

* * *

In the morning, when the messenger arrived, Loki had just said goodbye to Sif, who was going back home. He read Lorelei's letter. He was a bit surprised but he did not see why he should refuse the invitation. So, in the afternoon, he met her on one of the multiple terraces of Asgard's palace.

Loki was determined to look relaxed. He sat in front of Lorelei who was already sitting.

"I haven't seen you since the ball. How are you, Lorelei?" asked the prince, drinking the glass in front of him.

"Quite well, actually. I had a lot to do with magic. I tried to learn some new things."

"Oh! What kind of magic?" asked Loki interested.

"One you don't care about."

"I care about all sorts of magic, Lorelei." said he, proud of himself.

"Well, it's about Love."

"Alright, I see. You still want to seduce everyone."

"Not everyone. Only those who seems to be interesting to seduce."

"Such as…"

"Those who try to resist." said Lorelei mysteriously.

At this moment, Loki felt like he was irresistibly attracted to Lorelei, but he didn't understand why, because he was not interested in her just a few seconds before. His heartbeat fastened and he had only one wish: to kiss her. Lorelei was aware of Loki's state of mind. She just wanted not to urge the situation. She wanted him to act, like it was coming from him only. Only at this moment, her revenge would be complete. Loki was really fighting with the urge of running to her lips. He knew there was something wrong and it was clouding his judgement. However, in a moment of clarity, he managed to understand Lorelei's trick: there was something in the glass! Unluckily for him, knowing that something was wrong didn't prevent him to act, even if he tried hard to fight it.

As he was sitting in front of her, he stood up and cupped her chin before kissing her passionately. Although he didn't want to do it, he couldn't deny that it was enjoyable to kiss Lorelei. When he stepped back, he looked at her and felt like he was in love with her. The more the minutes were passing, the more he was thinking that this love was true.

For his misfortune, from behind, came Sif. Lorelei had minded inviting her just a few minutes after Loki, for her to look at his cheating boyfriend. She first slapped Loki, then Lorelei and turned back to the prince to shout at him.

"How could you?"

She was between disappointment and anger. Loki was seeing it in her eyes. Strangely, the slap and Sif's question had taken him back to normal. He was hardly snapping out of it.

"So, what? You had what you wanted and then you move on?" cried she.

Loki had to find his words quickly. Of course, he had not been with Sif only for sleeping with her!

"No! I swear! She had me drink a potion. I didn't know what I was doing! Tell her, Lorelei!"

Standing beside him, the sorceress was enjoying the situation.

"I made him drink something, that's true. But I've seen how he enjoyed the kiss. He wasn't pretending."

Loki closed his eyes and let a breath out. He knew he would lose Sif.

"Please, don't believe her." said he, looking to his girlfriend in the eyes. "Remember what I told you this morning."

"I can't believe that I was so stupid to trust you!"

Her words were daggers in Loki's heart. How naive he had been to think that Lorelei could ask for a friendly drink! He turned to her:

"You will pay for that!"

"The prince of treachery, the god of lies, the trickster is not strong enough to resist a love potion after all!" said Lorelei proudly.

It killed Loki to admit it to himself, but she was true. She had beaten him at his favourite game. But it was not the time to feel sorry for himself. Sif had to believe him, to give him a chance to explain himself.

"Sif, I apologize. I should have seen that coming."

She would have loved to believe Loki, but what she had seen and the dispute they had the day before, it was too much to stand. She did not want to hear what he had to say for she was on the edge of crying.

"I don't want to hear anything." said she, turning around and walking away.

Loki caught her up and took her by the elbow.

"Please, don't." said he.

Sif struggled.

"Let go of me or I hit you!" shouted she at him.

Loki let go, knowing she would do it.

"I love you, Sif. Please don't go."

"You let me no choice." said she, leaving for good this time.

Loki watched her leave and he turned to Lorelei one last time:

"I'll have my revenge, sorceress!"

"I don't think so." answered she self-sufficient.

But Loki was already gone, teleported in his bedroom. He had to think.

* * *

After some hours, Loki was still locked in his apartments, furious. In one day, he had been the happiest man and the saddest one. Although he could have been planning a revenge, he was only thinking about how to reconquer Sif. She had to understand. But how? And now that he was thinking about it, it was likely Heimdall would pay him a visit…

The only thing he had found was to apologize again. But when he tried to reach her at her home, she was not there. He tried the arena, but he was not luckier. It is only on his way to his bedroom that he heard her voice and it was coming from Thor's apartments… Loki's heart skipped a beat. He could not believe it! He decided to go see by himself and knocked at the door:

"Brother, open this door, I know she's there."

He had not to wait long, Thor opened the door. Sif was standing beside him, frowning. Loki came in.

"What are you doing here?" asked Loki.

"I don't recall having to ask your permission." answered Sif sharply.

Thor tried to calm everyone.

"She was sad and had to find someone who could understand."

"And what can you understand, Brother?" asked his brother angrily. "You've never been able to keep a woman more than a week!"

"Don't answer him." said Sif to Thor, resting her hand on his shoulder as for holding him back.

Loki saw her touching his brother and Jealousy took the best of him.

"And what were you saying, Brother? _Of course, you shouldn't have trust him. He doesn't deserve you._ "

Loki pushed his brother on the chest and made him take a step back. But Thor didn't answer the provocation.

"Leave him alone!" intervened Sif. "Actually, he was persuading me that there should have been a misunderstanding. That you love me SO much that you couldn't do that to me."

She had angry eyes. Loki looked at them, lost. He didn't know what to think. Should he really believe that Thor was defending him? No! It could not be true.

"Stop lying! You accuse me of betrayal, but I already told you that it was Magic! You don't want to believe me: fine! But what are doing behind my back that I find you in the arms of my brother only hours later? Who is the liar, who is the fool now?"

"You can't really believe that I was cheating on you, can you?" asked Sif.

"What should I believe then?" asked Loki in return. "You think yourself above all the other maidens? That because you are a warrior you are better than them? But look at you! In the end, you're exactly the same." spat he with disgust. "All you want is the mighty Thor! The strongest one, the most courageous one, the future king! Did you ever love me?"

"You have no right to talk to me like that! You know you are wrong! How can you even ask me that after tonight? Your jealousy makes you delusional!"

Thor seemed to understand what she was implying about their night.

"I should let you two alone." said he.

But Loki didn't stop.

"You think I don't see your little game! Are you making fun of me while I'm not here?"

"You see things that doesn't exist." defended Sif. "I can be friend with Thor without betraying you."

"Oooh, can you?"

"This is it! I can't stand that anymore." said Sif, pushing Loki to access the door.

"Fine! Run like a little girl and don't come back. I don't want to see you anymore!"

Sif left the room, letting Loki and Thor together. Loki didn't lose time and disappeared.

* * *

Although he could have reappeared in his apartments, as always, he chose a different place, somewhere he had spent some time in his childhood. He knew he was not allowed to do go there as a child, so he had found a way to hide it from Heimdall's watch. In those days, he had to reach the place with a ship. Now he could do it more easily by teleporting. It was the place where Amora's father had found portals to other worlds. After Amora had told it to him, he had looked for them. He had tried to find them desperately. One day, he was fifteen then, he had finally found them. They were hidden in rocks near Asgard mountains. He had found that one was leading to Svartalfheim. The day he had passed through that portal, he was so afraid of what he had seen on the other side, that he promised to himself not to go through another one.

But on this day, he was in such a despair that he did not see why he could not escape his world just a few minutes. Svartalfheim was barren and vapid. So, he chose another one. He left it up to the chance to arrive on a welcoming place.

As he took a step in, he wondered briefly if it was not a mistake, but he didn't turn around. Instead he continued his way through the rocks and he came out on a frozen land. It was snowing and a strong wind was blowing. He knew he was on Jotunheim without even seeing one of his inhabitant: the dreadful frost giants. To avoid any inconvenience by encountering one of these monsters, he decided to transform into one. He found it quite easy to look big and blue like the frost giants. He even succeeded in making appear marks on his skin, a distinctive sign of this race. He was stunned with the result, because, even if he had already seen some on pictures, he had never met a frost giant before. He finished his disguise by adding some primitive clothes that he had seen on some pictures. Then, he decided to walk a bit in this desert land. Strangely, the cold was calming his nerves. He didn't even feel its bite.

After having spent two hours walking into the snow, Loki decided that it was time to go back to Asgard. As he was walking back to the portal, he felt spied on. He stopped:

"Show yourself! I know you are here."

He waited a few seconds and from behind a frozen rock, came a female frost giant. He did not want to look frightened so he spoke first.

"Who are you?" asked the prince.

"I am Angrboda." answered the Jotun.

"Don't be afraid, Angrboda." said Loki.

"I am not afraid, stranger." answered she with a guttural voice. "But I usually recognize everyone, and I don't know you..."

"You are right, I'm not from this side of the world." answered Loki with prudence.

"You intrigue me, stranger…"

She approached the prince with no clue of who she was speaking to. As she was just a few centimetres away, Loki could look at her. She had a normal stature for a frost giant, she had beautiful long dark hair and she had a crown on her head made with large spikes. She was wearing a brown short gown and her red eyes were studying Loki intensely, like she knew there was something unnatural in him. Although Loki should have been afraid for a multitude of reasons, he did not flicker as she was inspecting him, turning around him. He could have been afraid that she would discover that he was not a frost giant or that other frost giants would join their friend, but nothing of that occurred in his mind. He was fascinated by her, at least as much as she was by him. For him, it was understandable because he had never seen a Jotun in his life. As for her, she was attracted by what seemed like one of hers but she didn't know why.

"The marks on your skin, they are pretty much like mine." said she.

As he looked at her to check her talking, he discovered that she was true. They were pretty close.

"You know what it means?" asked she.

Loki looked at her interlocked.

"The more our marks are alike, the more we are made for each other." said she.

By the Nine Realms! The Jotun was interested in him! It was too much for one day. A start of a smirk appeared on his mouth.

"Are you mocking me?" asked the frost giant.

Loki put himself together:

"Of course not, I was just thinking that you are not the first one today to make advances to me, or sort of."

"Did the other succeeded?" asked she, curious.

"You see, it is far more complicated. There is this one girl, she caught me with someone else, but it wasn't what she was thinking."

"What do you mean?"

"I did not want her. It was magic. I'm tired of that, really. Women, you know..."

"Hum…"

Loki had been honest with her, he didn't even know why. Maybe it was because she was a complete stranger. Or maybe it was because he was feeling like a link between them.

"I guess you don't want me neither." said the frost giant.

He was in love with Sif, but, once more, he was put aside for his brother. He was tired of justifying himself all the time. If the world was only going to see him as shifty and untrustworthy, there was no point trying to be anything else. And for the first time in his life, he felt like he would be happy, if he could make something bad on purpose. Something to, at least, deserve the mischief he was always accused of. Hurt someone only to laugh. Stab in the back, like they had done it. What he would do would be as much to deserve his reputation as to avenge his girlfriend's treachery.

"You're wrong." answered he.

* * *

 **Explanations for this chapter:**

 **\- Those who like Sifki (like me): the beginning of the chapter was for you. The end, not so much...**

 **\- Lorelei: Can't say much, her acts speak for themselves...**

 **\- About Sif's reaction: I wanted her to be shocked and disoriented. It is the reason why she would go to Thor. About Loki's reaction: he loves Sif, he has always been jealous of Thor. He doesn't need more to imagine a relationship between Sif and his brother. For me, Loki is uncompromising. He truly loves and he truly hates. Jealousy is part of the character.**

 **\- The sentence "If the world was only going to see him as shifty and untrustworthy, there was no point trying to be anything else." comes from Zootopia (a bit arranged though). I've seen it just few days ago and I thought it was meant to be in this scene.**

 **\- Ahhh... The passages between the different worlds! Finally, Loki can use them! About the story on Amora's father, please read my fanfiction"The Beginning". What a first journey on Jotunheim! And we know how will be the next ones...**

 **\- The lovely and sensual Angrboda comes from the Norse Mythology. And is also part of the Marvel Universe, but she's not blue. It is certainly due to the fact that she is also a sorceress in Marvel and that she can transform too.**

 **\- WAITING FOR RAGNAROK TO BE RELEASED TO CONTINUE**


End file.
